Empress in the shadows
by voider
Summary: The story of a Goa’uld who lacked the insanity of her race, her rise to power and the birth of an empire.
1. Chapter 1 Birth

**Empress in the shadows.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate.

**Summary**: The story of a Goa'uld who lacked the insanity of her race, her rise to power and the birth of an empire.

The story starts many centuries ago.

**Note**: I have revised this a bit - made some minor changes.

'text' is a mental/silent conversation.

"text" is spoken conversation.

**-x-x-x-**

**Prologue.**

**-x-x-x-**

Two figures were sneaking in the corridors of a Goa'uld mothership. Suddenly, one of them grabbed his comrade, dragging him on a side passage. They hid for a few seconds. The second man wanted to ask the first if he really heard something. He of course did not; it would be dangerous to talk.

A Goa'uld passed quickly without looking sideways.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the two continued on their mission. They entered a room to see a large basin of water.

One of the men drew a small vial with a black liquid. "Are you sure about this? It somehow seems ... wrong."

The other shook his head in exasperation. "They are Goa'uld."

"But if this works out, they won't be. They may become like us. If that happens ... they could be discovered. They'll be killed. You know how they hunt anything related to the Tok'ra."

"Yes, but you know as well as I do that many of them will be killed due to the ... treatment. Those that survive ... the chance of this working is very small - one in ten thousand."

"I know. I just don't like this."

"We have no choice. We can not experiment on Tok'ra symbiots, only on Goa'uld. This is all we can do. We can not take a few hundred Goa'uld larvae, experiment and put them into human hosts and hope they are not ... evil Goa'uld. Even if they behaved like Tok'ra, we could not trust them; they could be faking it. The only way to find out if this works is to let them here, in the lion's den and hope for the best. If they are what we hope they are, we may find out in the future."

The other man nodded and poured the liquid from the vial in the water and left.

Sadly, they would never find out if their mission bore fruit, for they died a few hours later. They died with the hope that someday, one of the larvae would be worth the sacrifice of their lives.

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 1.**

**Birth.**

**-x-x-x-**

Maya was excited. Today ... now, she would become the avatar of a goddess. She was raised from birth for this duty. Finally, the time came. She was escorted by two Jaffa to the ritual chamber.

The room had a small basin in the center, with a god looking inside. She could not see what he was looking at, but judging from his wondering eyes, he was looking at something ... something that was inside the basin ... swimming.

As soon as he glanced at her, she kneeled in front of the god, on a small pillow, without looking in His glowing eyes. She bowed her head and closed her eyes as the ritual required. She heard a hiss or scream. The god moved her hair from her neck. She felt something touch her, and then pain; so much pain. She never experienced anything even close to it. She wanted it to stop. She did not care how. Even death was better than this torture.

**-x-x-x-**

I felt the haze of mist that enveloped my consciousness start to dim. I am swimming in the water in anticipation. Something is going to happen, but what? I think that I should know. What is going to happen? I suddenly realize it. I am going to receive my host! A host, what is a host? The answer comes back faster. A host is a vessel; it will become my new body. It can be many races, but the best match is the humans. If the vessel is a human, then what am I? I am Goa'uld. More and more information comes to my mind. It is like a torrent. Memories upon memories come. They are the genetic memories of my race; the memories of my progenitors. And something else ... there is something that is not normal. Something is missing, I wonder what. I know instinctively that I am missing something, but what?

What am I missing? I delve into my memories, experiencing them fully. I stop at one. This one seems particularly ... wrong. In this memory my progenitor is torturing someone. It is an enemy. A rival Goa'uld. What is wrong? Is it the torture? I analyze my reactions. No, I do not care about the torture; it is not what disturbs me. I replay the memory over and over. What is wrong? I see myself - in the guise of my progenitor, torturing the enemy. He is laughing. I am laughing.

I suddenly realize what is wrong. He is laughing. In the memory he feels ... pleasure that my enemy is finally in my grasp. I know on an intellectual level what he feels, but I feel nothing. I should feel the same things my progenitor is feeling, but I do not feel the pleasure; the satisfaction...

I quickly go through more memories. It is the same. I should experience them fully. I should feel the emotions of my progenitors. I should feel the hate, the pleasure, the pain, the satisfaction, the fear, the rage, the happiness and rarely, the affection. I stop for a moment. So many memories, so many feelings and most of them are ... negative emotions. It is strange. I am suddenly glad I don't feel them. I would not want to relive them. Somehow, I prefer this. I search for the reason for it. I have the memories of my race, but I do not have the "emotional baggage". Yes, this is a fresh start. If I had those emotions, I would be different. I would hate what my progenitors hate and I would like what they like. All the emotions they had, all the opinions, I would have them. I have many progenitors. They thought and felt many things. However, those are not my burdens. I am ... my own person, I may have their knowledge, but I am not a slave to their whims.

**-x-x-x-**

I am stopped from my musings. Something grabs me. I am taken from the water. I struggle because I do not like the air. I am safer in the water, there I can move swiftly. I sense a Goa'uld. Since I am but a new-born, he is more powerful than me. He takes me toward a kneeling figure. Excitement courses through me. This is my new body; I am so close. I am released and I enter. I delve inside the body and start connecting to it. I never felt this much pain. I can sense the human. It is trying to resist me. The pain I feel is nothing compared to what she feels. I know what I should do, what every Goa'uld before me did. They used this pain to dominate the host. They would imprison it for eternity. Some would even mentally hurt and torture it on a regular basis. This was one of the reasons Goa'uld hated Tok'ra. The rebels have an equal relation with the host. Such a thing was abhorrent to a Goa'uld. Tok'ra are insane and deviant from a Goa'uld point of view. The notion of letting their hosts equal power over their body's, of putting themselves at their mercy was unconceivable. But that is not me. I am not them. I see no sense in hurting the other conscience. However, I can not do as the Tok'ra. I know that I can not trust my host with my safety. At least, not now; in the future, who knows. For the moment, I will send her to sleep. No reason to concern myself with her now. I can do that in the future when I am safe.

My eyes glow as I rise and look forward, where a mirror is suitably placed. I look at my new body. I see a medium height young girl. She is Caucasian with snowy white skin in contrast with the jet black eyes and long hair - probably a legacy of the Asian blood that one of my host's ancestors had. The breasts are not yet fully developed. After all this body is barely fourteen. The face is angelic, practically screaming innocence and the skin smooth and unblemished. She is beautiful. I am beautiful.

I suddenly remember I am in the presence of a powerful Goa'uld; I bow my head at him. For the moment, I am completely in his power.

"Rise..."

"I am Lilith, my Lord," I said.

"Lilith and Maya; It is strangely fitting. I approve."

**-x-x-x-**

As soon as I arrive in my quarters, I sit in a meditation position and wake my host - Maya.

'What happened?' she tried to say. However, she could not move her body and her question was not spoken aloud.

I however, did not need to hear. 'Try to relax, Maya,' I replied to the distraught mind. 'You remember the ritual, do you not?'

'Am I dead?'

'No.'

'Then what happened? Why can't I move my body?'

'You can not move it because of me. I am controlling your body.'

'So ... you are the goddess?'

'Goddess? Hardly. Though some of my kind are insane enough to consider themselves gods, I am not among them.'

'But ... I thought ...'

'Relax. I will show you.' For the next hours, I explained to my host about the Goa'uld.

'So you're nothing but parasites,' Maya finally said bitterly.

I sympathize with the girl. After all, her whole life turned upside down. 'Not all are parasites. Some of my kind choose to be simbiots.'

'You said you are not Tok'ra.'

'I am not, but I am also not your typical Goa'uld. I am not like most of my kind.'

'Does that mean you are going to let me go?' Maya asked hopefully.

'It does not. But I will not treat you the way Goa'uld treat their hosts. I gain no pleasure in torture. I am also not like a Tok'ra, but I am willing to make a compromise. I can not give you equal rights to our bodies in the near future if only because you are unable to ensure our existence.'

'What to you mean?'

'I mean that if any Goa'uld find out that we have an understanding, our life would be forfeit. I will not risk discovery. In time, you will learn how to behave like a Goa'uld. When that happens, I will let you out more often. Until then, I can not take that chance except in private.'

'So you're not going to ...'

'Of course not. I told you. I get no pleasure in inflicting pain.'

'Thank you, but why are you doing this? I understand that you don't want to cause me pain, but you could just send me to sleep again ... so why?'

'First, this was your body. It is the way of my kind to take hosts. This however, does not mean I can't share. It would be the honorable thing to do. There is another reason, a more pragmatic one. Usually the Goa'uld and their hosts are in a constant battle for control. If we are weakened, the hosts can sometimes take control. All this effort that goes into battling the mind of the host is unwise. If we two manage to work together, the way the Tok'ra do, it would be to our advantage. Two minds working together are much better than a mind distracted with fighting itself.'

'Two minds? I don't think I could help you with anything. You know so many things and I am just an ignorant human that thought you were a Goddess.'

'Don't worry Maya. It is true that you lack knowledge, but I am a Goa'uld and you are my host. You can access my memories at any time. Unfortunately, you can not incorporate all the skills and knowledge I have so easy. You may know things, but you need to understand them. To do that, we'll meditate every night. In this time, you will learn everything I know. In a few years, you will know and understand everything I know, even how to construct a Goa'uld mothership.'

**-x-x-x**

The Goa'uld are a feudal society. At the top of the food chain we have the System Lords. Below them are their mates, their lieutenants and the independent powerful Goa'uld. All of them have large domains, ruling over many worlds and command large fleets and armies.

Next, we have the Goa'uld that rule smaller domains or act as commanders.

And then there is the class I belong. It is of course the most numerous. Here the weaker Goa'uld belong: the administrators, assistants, low-ranked officers, mercenaries, scientists and all others.

As a newly born Goa'uld, I must be careful. Goa'uld have the need to dominate. The strong rule over the weak, the weak plot to take their place. Failure usually means death, torture or both. I too feel this need to rule, though I am sure I have more control than most of my kind. I am once again glad for the accident of fate that granted me a free life. I watch my fellow Goa'uld and I realize that the memories of our race haunts them every moment. I am most of all glad that I lack the arrogance that kills so many of my kind. However, I may be mistaken. Is it not arrogant to think I am above such pettiness? Only time will tell.

I am however sure that the conduct of my Lady Bastet will one day short her life considerably since our kind is unrivaled at holding grudges. From what I learned, she is not very honest in her dealings. She also treats everyone with contempt, be they Goa'uld, Jaffa or humans. True, it is a behavior common to most Goa'uld, but even we have standards.

Since I was ... "born," I was assigned to one of Bastet's lieutenants - Marduk. I am his assistant and do odd jobs for him. It usually entails taking care of his flagship. As he is a very powerful Goa'uld, he has many responsibilities and I make myself useful to him since he can destroy or reward me with but a word.

All Goa'uld are extremely intelligent and knowledgeable. It is probably because of our genetic memory. Since the day we are born, we are adults and have the knowledge of many generations. However, there is a difference between true memories and genetic memories. Some just rely on past knowledge and fail to see that we never stop learning. We can always learn new things.

Goa'uld science and technology is based on what we stole from other species. We usually find a new technology and if it is useful, we incorporate it. We may tweak it here and there, but in general, we rarely innovate. The Goa'uld as a race are more inclined to using what is already there. The first race we managed to possess - the Unas, were too primitive and not suited for anything else than brute force. The next races we managed to possess were smarter, but still not well suited to the Goa'uld. Because of that, we could not use them to full capacity. The humans however, are the perfect match. Unfortunately, we still use them simply as shells. The human mind is quite interesting. I was surprised to discover that though humans are not as genetically advanced as some races, they have enormous potential. There are indications that point towards humans being the second evolution of their form. The first being the ancient gate builders.

I tried to use the human mind, with their own special gifts, in my pursuit of knowledge and I found that I am much more competent than most of my race.

Because of my talent with technology and ability to keep the mothership in perfect condition, I am privy to most research data. I am far more competent than I let myself appear. I do this because competent researchers are rare. Were I to show the extent of my abilities, I would never be able to progress on the Goa'uld social ladder and would be kept as Lady Bastet's creature with little hope to advance. After all, my best option on obtaining a domain and keeping it is through combat. Were I seen as a brilliant researcher, I would be considered as either too weak or too dangerous. This is why I decided to spend my time learning everything about any piece of technology, but keep it hidden. I occasionally reveal some of my discoveries, but not enough to reveal the true extent of my knowledge. I have many ideas that I would like to implement, but I do not wish for others to receive the fruits of my work, especially the System Lord I serve. I do not find her worthy of my service.

For now, I do all that is required from me. My ship is one of the most powerful motherships in the fleet. It has better shields, better weapons and higher speed. It is of course not something too major, but in a one on one battle with another mothership, I am confident that we would be victorious. For this, I am allowed a lot of freedom.

This is of course not my only duty. I am privy to almost any information Marduk is. And he, as one of Bastet lieutenants, is privy to almost everything she is. This means I receive a great deal of intelligence on the other Goa'uld, their domains and resources. One day I will be able to take advantage of it and quickly carve my own private empire.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author Notes**: _This is kind of an experiment,** so please review**; **any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: November 26 2008.

Edited: December 10 2008.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	2. Chapter 2 First Battle

**Authors Note**: I have revised this a bit - made some minor changes.

'text' is a mental/silent conversation.

"text" is spoken conversation.

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 2.**

**First Battle.**

**-x-x-x-**

For many years I have served on this vessel. Now is the first time we go into battle. Our vessel, followed by three more Ha'taks drop out of hyperspace. We open fire upon the enemy ships. We have a slight advantage: our four motherships against the three enemy Ha'taks and four Al'kesh bombers.

Each of our Ha'taks target an enemy bomber and fires. It does not take much to destroy them. They are small, maneuverable and they are able to do a lot of damage comparable to their size. However, their shields are weak.

All seven motherships disgorge their death gliders. The two swarms collide and fire on each other.

Our Ha'taks fire on the enemy middle ship. It is the flagship. They too, return the favor by firing on my ship. Bolts of energy are fired between us. A few minutes later, the shields of the enemy mothership fail; half a minute later it explodes. Our shields are at half strength. Seeing that their flagship was destroyed, the two remaining motherships start firing at maximum rate.

Lord Marduk orders to fire on the next ship. Again, a few minutes later, our target is destroyed. Only one enemy mothership remains. My ship's shields are below 20 percent though. I wish Lord Marduk would order one of the other ships to interpose between us and the enemy. It does not have the firepower to destroy us, but soon, the shields will begin to fail. Some of the energy fire will get through. This ship I worked for so many years will get seriously damaged.

Just as I thought, the ship is beginning to take damage. The bridge shakes at every attack that goes through the failing shields. If this keeps up, my ship will be a wreck.

Fortunately, our death gliders finished with their job and started their attack on the single remaining enemy ship. I breathe a sigh of relief as the death gliders' fire finally overloads the shields.

This battle has been costly. Most of our death gliders are gone. The flagship has moderate damage. It did not need to be like this.

I do not understand why Marduk did not order one of the other ships to go between the flagship and the enemy vessel. It is not typical of a Goa'uld to take such risks. Had he done that, none of our motherships would have been damaged.

I think he may have acted this reckless so he could brag to the other Goa'uld that we got pummeled like this by three ships and we are still in good shape. I am at least glad that he put so much faith in me. When I was born, this ship was a flagship in name only. Since then, I worked a lot on her. I am proud to say that our speed is 10 percent higher; our weapons are 25 percent more powerful; and the shields are 50 percent stronger. I spent a lot of resources to do it, but it was worth it. Perhaps this is why Lord Marduk fought like this - to see what the mothership was capable of and if the expended resources were worth it. It would not be cost effective to do this to other ships, but it was a good upgrade for a flagship. Only Lady Bastet's flagship is more powerful. However, that is because it is almost three times as big as a normal Ha'tak and it has the latest technology.

"You have done a good job upgrading the mothership, Lilith," Marduk says. "I am pleased."

"Thank you, Lord Marduk."

**-x-x-x-**

This was a great victory, but it will take months to completely repair the ship. Unfortunately, this will have to wait until we reach Bastet's capital - the world Bubastis.

I must wait because the damage is too extensive and the Jaffa are not capable of repairing all the damage. They know how to operate some Goa'uld technology and do some minor repairs, but they have no understanding of the science behind it. For them, it is Goa'uld magic. We must reach Bubastis for a complete repair.

Goa'uld technology is a blend of many technologies and one of its greatest strengths is its redundancy and ability to work thousands of years without breaking. It is due to this that Goa'uld can put a Jaffa in charge of a ship. Even with heavy damage, a Goa'uld ship is able to function and some of the "magical" repairs are easily done by ignorant Jaffa.

The only ships that are capable of complete repair are those that have technicians and scientists aboard. The only ships that have them are usually the flagships of System Lords. They are the only ones that have (on a regular basis) more than a few Goa'uld around them.

The making of Goa'uld technology is a strange blend of high and low technology. The raw materials are made using inefficient slave labor. Next, the high-tech parts are made using Goa'uld technology. When all these materials are gathered, slaves assemble the pieces. They have no idea what they do. They just know that this piece goes there.

I think it is sad. My race is so afraid of competition that it transforms all our subjects into mindless automatons.

If I had competent crew, I could make this vessel at least twice as powerful. Unfortunately, if I want competent crew, they must be Goa'uld because the humans and Jaffa know nothing and teaching them is forbidden. It is a silly rule, but I have no choice. One day I will have my own domain. When that happens, things will change.

**-x-x-x-**

After we reached the Capital, Lord Marduk informed Bastet of our triumph.

"Lilith," he said after he returned from his audience.

"My Lord."

"I have informed our Lady of our victory. She was pleased. She was impressed that we had no losses. You have served me well. It is time for you to have your own Jaffa. Our Lady is pleased with your work. She has given leave for you to receive one hundred unclaimed Jaffa. Since we will stay here for the foreseeable future, you are free to begin your selection."

"Thank you, My Lord." I bowed and walked straight to my quarters. I pack all my equipment. I go outside, ignoring the bows of the slaves that are repairing the ship. I order some Jaffa to take my baggage and follow me. I must set up my compound.

**-x-x-x-**

I am glad for the reward. I can choose any one hundred Jaffa. Unclaimed Jaffa are those Jaffa that do not serve a Goa'uld. Usually, they are the young. I waited for this for a long time. For a few years, I have seeded the Jaffa settlements with invisible listening devices. For many days, I read the files that were made in the last months when I was off-world.

I read through the files and stopped at one of them - Kyra's; she comes from a once strong family. Five years ago, her father and older brother were killed by Bastet when they failed on a mission through no fault of their own.

All Jaffa receive combat training, even the females. This is done so they could protect their homes in case of an attack. However, females are rarely taken to serve in combat. After all, Goa'uld look at humans the way humans look at animals. The males fight and the females breed. I however, disagree. It is true that in general, males are stronger than females. This however does not mean that females are useless. Many of the strongest boys are slotted to Bastet and her lieutenants. I can not get the crop of the fields from the rest. The females however, are all unclaimed. I can choose among them. I can get all that lost potential for myself. They are of course not as well trained as the boys, but a year of intensive training will bring them up to speed. In five, I'll make them elite warriors.

I returned my attention to the picture of Kyra. She, like many of her family, is a genius at the art of war. She will be my Prime. From my surveillance, she has more raw potential than ten Primes put together. She is the best fighter in her age group from her clan though she hides most of her talents. She might even give trouble to the more experienced members of her clan. The problem is that she secretly hates all Goa'uld. Fortunately, she is good at hiding things. Hopefully I will manage to convince her to serve me faithfully.

I climbed into my private death glider.

Death gliders are used as cannon fodder. They can be shot down by a lucky hit from a staff weapon. I build my own fighter. It is heavily armored, has powerful shields and weapons, and is three times as fast as a normal death glider. The problem is that it is more expensive than ten normal death gliders. I prefer quality over quantity.

'You prefer to stay alive,' interrupted Maya.

'True, though I do love quality work,' I Lilith. 'And expense was not a problem when I made it. After all I made one for me and one for Marduk. For him, the cost of twenty measly death gliders is nothing compared to his safety.'

'Yes, even after all these years together, I am still surprised when you do something for yourself but others pay for it. Even your contacts to your Intel network are paid by Marduk and Bastet.'

**-x-x-x-**

I landed my glider near Kyra's home.

An older Jaffa hurried towards me as I exited the fighter. His eyes widened slightly as he saw me. Behind him, two younger boys stood at attention. All three bowed deeply.

"I am Lilith. I have come for my First Prime."

The old man whispered something to the boys. They ran towards their home. Five minutes later, the whole population of the clan was outside the house. They split out in four groups. The first was the warriors that already served a Goa'uld. The second was the young boys. The third was the elders of the clan and the fourth was the girls and young boys.

I passed the first group without even looking. The young boys grew excited. They think that if I didn't select one of the seasoned warriors, I will select one of the... boys. To the Jaffa's consternation, I passed the boys and the elders and stopped in front of the last group where the unmarried girls and the boy-children were standing.

I looked straight at Kyra. "You, come forward." The girl did as she was told. "You, Kyra are from now on, my First Prime."

The Jaffa looked confused and murmured among each other. Not only did I take an inexperienced First Prime, I also took a girl. Such things were not done.

"You have fifteen minutes before we leave." The girl nodded and dashed towards her home.

"My lady?" said the old Jaffa uncertainly.

"You are wondering why I chose her."

"Yes my lady. She is but a young girl."

"Yes she is. But all warriors were once young. And regarding her gender - is there someone stronger among the boys?"

"Of course my lady," the Jaffa answered confidently.

"Is that so? By all means, let us see; choose your strongest."

When Kyra came back, I motioned to the girl to approach me, outside the range of Jaffa ears. "It seams that your clan doubts your skills. Show them what you are capable of. Do not hold back. I do not want the other Goa'uld to think that my First Prime is weak."

"Yes, My Lady." The girl took a staff and faced her opponent.

Three minutes later, a slightly injured girl was standing over her bloodied opponent.

"It looks like I chose well," I told the old Jaffa.

I signaled to the girl to come after me. She took her bag with her uninjured hand and climbed after me in the fighter.

After we arrived home, I ordered one of the servants to prepare a bath for my Prime. I chose her room to be next to my own.

"Disrobe," I ordered.

The girl obeyed with only a slight hesitation. She, like me has dark hair and eyes. She looks similar to me. The only clear discrepancy between us is the color of her skin. While Maya had only distant Asian ancestors, Kyra's skin was golden. There was another difference. Kyra had the pouch of a Jaffa. I took the healing device from inside my robes and pointed my hand at the girl. For a split second, she was afraid.

She thinks I will hurt her.

I activated the device and start repairing the damage.

The girl clenched her injured hand, but found it healed. She then drew a deep breath, expecting to feel the pain of her broken ribs. "My injuries are gone," she said in a wondering voice.

"Of course; we will talk further, but first, take a bath."

Half an hour later, a much refreshed Prime returned.

I gave the girl a small package of dark clothes. "Dress in those. These are made of special materials. They are almost weightless, but they can protect you almost as well as Jaffa armor." In my opinion Jaffa armor was pathetic. It did not protect from staff weapons. The only thing they protected was primitive weapons. After all, it would not look good for the servants of the gods to be killed by knives and arrows. "This," I say pointing at an opened box, "is your armored suit. It too weighs less than Jaffa armor. Unlike your clothes however, the protection given by it is much bigger. It is a similar model to my own, though of course it lacks some Goa'uld technology that you are unable to use. With this, you will be able to be hit by a dozen hits from a staff weapon and survive."

I nodded in approval at the figure in front of me. The dark armor not only offers much protection; it is also stealthy and looks nice. Like all Jaffa who ultimately serve Bastet, Kyra's mask was a cat. However, I do not enjoy the ungainly normal masks, so I modified it. Now, it doesn't look like a paralyzed suit of armor.

'Yes, it is quite stylish,' said Maya. 'One day, if you get tired of galactic domination, you can become a stylist for old senile Goa'uld.'

I ignored Maya. "How is the suit?" I asked my Prime.

"It is very good, my Lady. Does your entire Jaffa force wear them?"

"For the moment, you are my only Jaffa. We will be selecting 99 more. They will be under your command. As I said you are my First Prime. The rest of my Jaffa will be young and inexperienced like you. It will be your job to train them and yourself. Unfortunately, I only have your armor finished. It will take a few weeks to finish the rest. They will not be as good as yours, since it is basically one of my suits, but modified for a Jaffa. However, they will still be much better than the normal armor Jaffa wear."

In the last years, I managed to stockpile quite a lot or materials and equipment. Since I was also given Jaffa to command, I was given equipment, resources, armor and weapons for them. Since I have no need for some of them, I was able to trade them for more raw materials and some high-tech machines that will allow me to process the raw materials into high-tech materials and parts.

"I will finish the rest of the suits by the time we finish selecting the rest of our troops." I pointed at the modified Goa'uld computer console I installed in her room. "Do you know how to use that?"

"No my Lady."

"Then I will show you."

For the next hour, I showed her the basics. Fortunately, she understood very well.

I open the director with the candidates' files. "I want you to look over these. We must select 99 of them. Look over them for the next day. Tomorrow, we will talk more."

'Are you sure about her? You even left her file. She will know you know she is not loyal to the Goa'uld,' said Maya.

'As sure as I can be. To accomplish my goals I need more than obedient and ignorant slaves. My subjects must be able to think for themselves. I will make an enlightened empire where progress is encouraged. If my Prime is to support me, I need her allegiance, not blind obedience and fear.'

'Goa'uld rule by fear.'

'Yes, but it will lead to our downfall. Sooner or later, the humans and Jaffa will rebel and succeed. If you have nothing, fear can be used to rule. But it is not the most effective way. Kyra hates Goa'uld. It is the biggest reason I took her as my Prime. She is not as brainwashed as the rest of the Jaffa. If she understands what I am trying to do and serves me willingly...'

'What if she doesn't? What if she betrays us when she learns what you really think?'

'Then I will kill her. However, I think it is unlikely.'

'Is she worth the risk?'

'Yes. I need warriors to conquer and to protect what is mine. If I have her as my Prime and if the rest of her Jaffa follow her example, I will be able to take control of a planet and begin advancing it.'

**-x-x-x-**

**Author Notes:** My Goa'uld is slowly gaining strength. Do you like how it's progressing?

_Thank you for reading and reviewing. _

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: November 29 2008.

Edited: December 10 2008.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	3. Chapter 3 Revelation

**Authors Note**: I have revised this a bit - made some minor changes.

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 3.**

**Revelation.**

**-x-x-x-**

After I left my Prime to her job, I retired to my working space. I must hurry if I want my Jaffa's equipment to be ready. From time to time, I glanced at the monitor that shows Kyra. She is perusing the files. Her eyes widen as she reads some of them.

I have been preparing files on the Jaffa population for almost ten years. Thanks to some special AI's and many drones and bugs, I have a file on virtually every Jaffa. Since I always knew I will someday receive Jaffa, I have concentrated on the most promising ones. I have over a thousand young Jaffa that I concentrated on. I know everything about them. How smart they are, how strong, how fast, the way they think, what they like and dislike, how they feel about the Goa'uld. This last part was the hardest to do. I found out such information by analyzing their body language in conversations. As they were and still are young and unaccustomed with hiding their emotions, I was able to use how they grimace when they hear about the Goa'uld, how their eyes harden for a fraction of a second, many such small things and bigger things - their conversations with people they trusted, in which they sometimes reveal their hate and doubt in the Goa'uld,

The eyes of my Prime grew bigger and bigger after each file.

Many hours later, she had only one more file - her own. She opened and begun to read. She turned white as she read the file that exposed her every inner thoughts.

**-x-x-x-**

Next day, I calmly entered the room of my Prime. She was sitting on a chair, looking blankly at a wall.

"Kyra,"

The girl stood up and gave me a bow. "My lady."

"You read the files ... your own included."

"Yes my Lady."

"You are confused," I tolled her.

"Yes. Are you going to kill me now?" Kyra asked bravely.

"Kill you? Of course not. I did choose you as my prime after all."

"But why?" she was clearly perplexed.

"You hate the Goa'uld. You doubt we are gods ..." Kyra was frozen. "And you are right."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise.

"We are not gods. Goa'uld pretend to be gods in order to control their subjects easier. Unfortunately, most of my kind forgot that we only pretend. Now, most Goa'uld believe our own propaganda. However, I am not like that. I have no wish for their delusions and their self-destructive path. I will rule not upon ignorant human and dead Jaffa bodies. I will rule over an enlightened empire; an empire that strives to progress; an empire that protects, nurtures and serves its entire population and not only their very few rulers. To do that, I need strength ... your strength. Will you help me?"

Many thoughts went through Kyra's mind. I could only imagine them. She should be surprised that I admitted I was not a god. She should be even more surprised that I would wish something more than what she was used from my kind - that I would be the kind of ruler few Goa'uld were - a benevolent one. I am sure she will serve me. If not for the hope of a better future, then it would be because it would irritate the other Goa'uld.

A few seconds later, my Prime knelt before me. "Yes, my Lady. I swear it."

I smiled at her. As I predicted, she will be my Prime. I am not sure she is totally loyal, but in time, she will be. I smiled more broadly at her and gave her my hand - something no Goa'uld would ever do. She hesitantly took it and I helped her up. "I am glad."

**-x-x-x-**

Together with my Prime, we discuss the merits of our candidates. We have almost finished.

"You need some good bodyguards, my Lady. I think the twins are perfect."

"Zyr'na and Zar'na?"

"Yes, my Lady. From their file, they appear to be the strongest of our candidates. I am actually surprised you did not choose one of them as your prime."

"Yes, I could have. However, they are fighters not commanders. Do not get me wrong. They would do wonderful even as commanders. However, they appear to lack the ... social skills for such a spot."

"I believe you are right my Lady. They are loners by nature. Shall I slot them as your personal bodyguards?"

"Yes, that would be perfect. You will need a second. Who is your favorite?" I asked her.

"Eerie; she is levelheaded. She usually acts as her father's aide. She is good at solving problems, efficient and level-headed; a perfect second."

"Very well. I shall go and bring them tomorrow. It would be good to establish a training program with them before the others come. These three will help immensely."

**-x-x-x-**

Today, I went and personally collected my three new Jaffa. After I showed them their new quarters, I gave each of them a command suit, similar to the one I gave Kyra. It is quite expensive and hard to make, but I want these four to be as safe as possible. Unlike the rest of my Jaffa force, who will stay in the barracks, Kyra, Eerie and the twins will have their quarters next to mine.

Kyra has finished her recruit selection. In a few days, I will begin to finish some of the armored suits. When I finally finish all of them, I will bring the rest of my Jaffa here. Until then however, I must show my four Jaffa commanders how to use the "training rooms". It is not just a room, but an underground complex.

I escorted my four commanders through it. I have done the basics, but it will be up to these four to use and modify them.

The first thing I showed them is the target practice. It is a large room where holograms are used to simulate enemy targets. They can be programmed to sit still, dodge and even return fire.

The second is the exercise room. It is filled with various equipments necessary to the strengthening of their bodies.

The third room is the arena, a place where Jaffa can practice fighting in hand-to-hand combat.

One of the most interesting things I made is the suit I wear. It is basically the same suit my commanders have.

When I made my first suit, I realized that Goa'uld do not know how to fight. Yes we have enormous strength. We can recover from the most grievous injuries. We have our many technological weapons. However, we are not well trained in fighting with our own bodies. After all, only Jaffa fight like that. That is why I decided to learn hand-to-hand combat. Since I could not ask a Jaffa to train with me, I decided to make a training dummy. I used the gigantic Goa'uld library and recordings of Jaffa training, fights and battles to discover various ways to fight. I used them all to give my practice dummy that knowledge. I was of course unable to defeat it. I was obviously strong and fast enough. I realized that my body did not have the necessary muscle memory. That is when I got a brilliant idea. My suit is not only a suit. It is also an exoskeleton. It amplifies my movement. I can even move it using only my mind. Since my mind can move it, a program can do the same. I used the same AI my practice dummy had in my suit and put them to fight. Since I was inside the suit, but released it of my control, the suit moved, making my body move with it, making me learn how to move and fight. It was like having a master fighter training me and showing me exactly how to move. In only a short time, I learned the basics and more, much more. I am now at a level beyond the AI. I have learned many things from it.

I decided to make this way of training available to my Jaffa. They all have at least some basic knowledge of how to fight, but I am sure it can speed up their improvement significantly.

I showed this to my Jaffa. They were suitably impressed.

The last room is the simulation room. Here, I can recreate most environments. It is a large room that can use holograms or training dummies to simulate an unfriendly environment. Here, many small scale battles can be simulated.

I finished explaining how to use the rooms, give them security access and let them to their own devices. Soon the rest of my Jaffa will come and they must be ready to begin training. And I have to finish the suits.

**-x-x-x-**

I finally finished with the completion of the suits. I showed Eerie how to pilot a cargo vessel and sent her to collect my warriors. It took all day. Eerie took them to their barracks and installed them in their new home. She presented them with their suits and told them that the next day, I will inspect them.

Next day, Eerie took the Jaffa in the arena.

I entered the arena room and saw my Jaffa in rows of twelve by eight. They were all standing at attention, ready for inspection. Clad in their suits, they looked quite impressive. Unfortunately, it was only that - they only looked; they were not impressive. With the exception of my four commanders and a few others, they were not fit for duty. A long year of training would take care of that however.

"Jaffa kree!" Eerie shouted unnecessarily. She was in front and to the side of the Jaffa formation.

I walked towards them. Kyra was to my right and two steps behind me. The twins were five steps behind me. We must look impressive for these young impressionable Jaffa.

"Jaffa!" At my voice, the girls stood even straighter, if that is possible. "I am Lilith. From now on, you are my Jaffa. Serve me well and I will do the same. As you see, I am a young Goa'uld. I do not have millions of Jaffa like Lady Bastet. Nor do I have many thousands like her Lieutenants. I only have you, one hundred. I prefer quality over quantity. For now, you are not up to my standards. In the next year however, you will become acceptable. My Prime, Eerie, Zyr'na and Zar'na will see to that. Some of you may wonder why you are all female. No doubt, you expected to get married in a few years and start making children. I however, think you are qualified for more than that. You were all selected from the entire Jaffa population of this planet for your potential. One day you will achieve it ... and maybe even surpass it. Make me proud." With that, I left and let them to begin learning.

**-x-x-x-**

That evening, I invited my four commanders to dine with me as I usually do.

I first started this the same day Kyra swore herself to me. At first, she was uncomfortable. I believe I must have a closer relation with her than the typical master-slave relations Goa'uld have. Little by little, she learned to talk to me as her master and ruler and not her Goddess. One might think there is little difference between the two, but there is.

I have encouraged her to make suggestions, to correct me when I make a mistake. When she did it for the first time, she almost expected me to punish her for her disrespect. Most Goa'uld would have done exactly that. "Kyra," I told her, "I am not omniscient. I make mistakes the same way everyone does. It is your duty as my Prime to correct me when that happens. It is your duty to advise me. I will never punish you for that. You can even contradict and argue with me as long as we are only in the presence of trustworthy people and we are in a secure location. If other Goa'uld were to find about our ... arrangement, it would be troublesome for both of us."

My three other commanders were surprised when we first dined together. Fortunately, they are still young and not set in the mindset of older Jaffa. They followed Kyra's example in her behavior towards me. Eerie was far more formal than Kyra, but she was just as open as Kyra. The twins were surprised for just a short moment. They were always unflappable. Sometimes I wonder what happens in those two twin brains of theirs.

"So, how did it go?" I asked.

"It was quite acceptable, my Lady," Eerie responded. After two hours of explanations, we started their training. They responded well, considering. I am certain that they will progress well."

"Unfortunately, they were too tired after they finished," Kyra said. "They were barely able to get to the barracks. It will take one or two weeks for them to get used to the intensive training." There was a note of amusement in Kyra's voice. Since they were commanders and had to set an example, they started their training almost three weeks ago, so they wouldn't appear weak in front of the recruits. They were already used to the intensive program, so they easily kept up with it. Their first day of full training, they were so tired that they were unable to go to bed to their quarters. I had to carry them to their rooms since I didn't want the human slaves inside the training complex. Needles to say, the next day they were able to carry themselves to their quarters.

**-x-x-x- **

Six months later, the Jaffa had a "graduation exam."

We were impressed. Six long months of continuous practice and training changed the once inexperienced girls. Thanks to their daily exercises, their strength was on par to their male equivalents of the same age. Their endurance, speed and agility were better. Their hand to hand combat was as good as any experienced Jaffa's thanks to the program I provided for the suits. Soon, the program will be unable to teach them anymore. The greatest improvement however, was on their firing skills. It was not surprising since most Jaffa had only minimal training with a staff weapon before being claimed. After that, they did not practice extensively like my girls did. Usually they practice only rarely with their staff weapons and when they do, it is only on stationary targets. My girls can shoot at moving targets and they are very good. Three hours of target practice per day can do that.

As usual, we are discussing the Jaffa over dinner. "I assume you are content with their results?" I asked.

"Yes my Lady." Kyra replied. The other three commanders nodded. "They have the basics exceeded."

"Then it is time to go to the next stage."

"Yes my Lady," Eerie nodded. "Since excluding us, there are ninety-six Jaffa, we can have eight squads of twelve Jaffa each."

"That would be perfect. I believe that since we have so few Jaffa, we should make generalist squads. We should have everyone develop a specialty. We need, for each squad, one squad leader, one medic, one tech, one pilot, two scouts, two heavy weapons specialists and four infantry."

"A medic and a tech, my lady?" Kyra asked. "We Jaffa heal on our own. We do not need a medic. And a tech ... is it not forbidden?"

"You are quite right. Teaching Jaffa about technology is frowned upon. However, as long as we keep it secret, we won't have problems. You are also correct upon the matter of healing. However, it takes time to heal naturally and sometimes the injury is too serious. With a modified healing device, a Jaffa can repair most of the damage."

"A healing device? But I thought only Goa'uld can use them." Kyra said.

"Yes, that is normally true. Fortunately, I can make a slightly different model that can be used by Jaffa. It will still be hard to use it; however it is a skill that can be mastered in time."

"Yes my Lady."

I am happy to see that Eerie and the twins are not too bothered with the breaking of Goa'uld laws. "I will prepare a training manual for the medics and techs and construct the healing devices. You four will take care of the others."

"Yes my Lady."

"Since they did so well, I believe it is time for a short vacation. They have two weeks off. If they wish, they can leave and visit their families and friends. The only thing I ask is to impress on them the importance of keeping secret everything that happens here. You are also free to do the same. Just be ready with the special training for the Jaffa. I believe you can split the duties."

"Yes my Lady," Kyra said. "Since we don't have to worry about the training of the medics and techs, it will not be hard. Zyr'na and Zar'na, you will take care of the scouts and the infantry. Eerie, you can take care of the pilots. I'll take care of the heavy weapons. The squad leader will be a common duty."

"That sounds good," I nodded in satisfaction. "After the vacation, we'll have two months to select the specialization for every Jaffa. In this time, they will all get the same training in all specializations. They all must have a basic understanding of each skill. When we discover who is the most suited to what, we will put them into squads and begin training each in their own specialization."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author Notes**: As I said in the first chapter, this happened several centuries ago. After all, you can't make an empire overnight.

There will be interaction between Lilith and SG1 and the Tok'ra. However, that is still some chapters in the future.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing. **_

_**Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: December 4 2008.

Edited: December 10 2008.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	4. Chapter 4 Eratna

'text' is a mental/silent conversation.

"text" is spoken conversation.

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 4.**

**Eratna.**

**-x-x-x-**

Jaffa ultimately belong to a single Goa'uld. Theoretically, my Jaffa serve not only me, but Marduk and Bastet as well. If she were to give an order contrary to my own, they should normally obey her order. Fortunately, I do not think that they would. I think that they would follow me. However, I do not think I should test it just yet. I have not clashed with my Goa'uld superiors and I have no intention to. A time may come when I will have to make them choose between me and their loyalty to Bastet and their homeworld. Fortunately that is still in the future. I still need Bastet's resources and the protection of her name.

More than a year and a half passed since my Jaffa begun their training. I must admit that I am impressed with their progress. I am even more impressed by the fact that I managed to teach the rudiments of healing to them. I am surprised that more than a third of them are capable of using the modified healing devices. It is not something a human mind finds easy to do since it requires such a high degree of concentration. I am also impressed by the techs. They learned enormous amounts of information in a short time. They are not the only ones. My entire Jaffa force learned the basics, and many of them (besides the eight techs and my four commanders) have decided to continue their education. Perhaps I should not be so surprised. They were after all, carefully selected for their high intelligence.

All of them are progressing well. I am quite proud of them.

Kyra entered my recreation area. "My Lady, a messenger came. You were summoned by Lord Marduk."

Usually, I am rarely disturbed here. It is one of the few places I let Maya take control on a regular basis. This is her refuge - a place to truly relax. She likes to float and swim in the pool for hours. I had it constructed for her. It reminds her of her childhood.

Maya - who was in control of my body turns her gaze towards my Prime. "Very well, you and the twins will come with me." There was no outward difference from me that betrayed her true identity.

"Yes my Lady." Kyra bowed and exited the room, leaving us to our thoughts.

'It must be a mission. It's Kuro again. Damn. I wanted more time.'

'Don't worry so much,' Maya said. 'They are well trained, armed and protected thanks to you.'

'I know Maya. However, if I am right, it won't be a pleasant battle like last time. Kuro is a nasty piece of business; even more than Bastet.'

'We could just flee through the stargate then. Find an empty planet or one ruled by a weak Goa'uld.'

'No, that path has its own dangers,' I replied to the surprisingly tempting plan. 'We just have to be careful. None of them would even blink at the loss of our Jaffa force. Bastet doesn't even care if she loses Jaffa since she still has millions more, but Marduk does not want to lose them needlessly. If things get too dangerous, we still have the choice of fleeing. But that's our back-up plan.'

**-x-x-x-**

We took a small cargoship and flew towards our destination.

Together with my Prime and the twins, we disembarked near Marduk's mothership.

I made my way to the bridge where Marduk should be. As I entered the bridge, the twins took position at the entrance. Kyra followed me.

"My Lord, you have summoned me."

"Lilith. You have selected your Jaffa?"

"Yes my Lord."

"And are they are all females like the three you brought with you?"

"Yes my Lord."

"I see. I hope you know what you are doing. It is rare for females to fight."

"I am confident in their abilities."

"Very well," he said nodding. "I hope your faith is not misplaced. In two weeks, we will leave to attack one of Kuro's planets - Eratna. The planet is important for its high deposits of naqahdah and is moderately defended. Lady Bastet will lead the attack. She will lead a force of fifteen Ha'taks and twenty Al'kesh. After we destroy the orbital defenses, we will invade the planet. You will lead one of the invading forces."

"Yes, my Lord. I will board my Jaffa within the week."

"Very well. We shall talk further after we are underway."

I bowed at Marduk and left. As I turned around, I caught a glance at Kyra's face.

I am glad her face is blank. She is learning to control her emotions even more. Before she was my Prime, I would have caught a twinge of emotion on her face - usually hate in case of proximity with a Goa'uld. Fortunately, a year and an half of leading a force of Jaffa as my Prime forced her to grow up and learn to control herself even better.

'Yes she did,' Maya said. 'It might also be because she met you. Also, Marduk is one of the better Goa'uld. Were she in front of Bastet, I do not know how she would react. Even if she did, most Goa'uld would not be capable of understanding the subtleties of facial expressions. After all it requires a certain degree of empathy, something that you have, but most of them lack. Even those who are capable of reading expressions are not as good as we are; after all beside our natural ability, we also have some artificial advantages. Even in the presence of Bastet, I doubt she would betray herself to the degree a Goa'uld would pick it up.'

'Yes, but that does not mean I want to test it. It would be dangerous if Bastet finds out I have a rebellious Jaffa as my Prime.'

**-x-x-x-**

One week later, my troops and I arrived. Marduk was there to observe. I walked towards him, Kyra and the twins by my side. Eerie stayed with the girls. She will see them to our assigned area of the mothership.

"What are they carrying?" Marduk asked.

I glance at the girls. Twenty girls were carrying ten big crates. "Those are supplies and weapons, my Lord."

"Weapons? I see that all of your Jaffa carry a zat'ni'katel and ... a staff weapon?" Marduk frowned in confusion at the strange staffs. Unlike the normal staff weapons - which were as tall as a man, the staffs carried by my Jaffa were different: more delicate, slimmer and fifty centimeters in length.

"They are a new model my Lord. They are basically the same as a normal staff, but compacted. Kyra, demonstrate."

Kyra touched the strange small staff clipped to her thigh and took it off. She touched a button and the staff's lengthened until it was the same length as a normal staff.

"I see."

"Unfortunately, it is quite expensive," I said.

"Yes, and seeing your Jaffa, their armor is different. I imagine they were even more expensive than the staffs."

"Yes my Lord. Since I only have one hundred Jaffa, I need superior quality to combat superior numbers."

"You could have used the resources expended on the improvements and traded them for more Jaffa."

"Yes my Lord, but I prefer quality over quantity."

"Yes, you always do. Did you make the new staffs and weapons yourself?"

I have strived to present a facade of a relatively intelligent, cautious and hardworking Goa'uld. The work I did on Marduk's flagship was very good, but it was something any intelligent Goa'uld with a good technical mind could have done. Had I showed my true intelligence and creativity, I could have done much more. However that would have spelled disaster for me. Bastet would have taken me for her own private flagship. I would have become her creature with little chance of escape. For this reason, I pretended to be a normal if slightly smarter Goa'uld.

"I made them myself, but I bought the model from one of my off-world Intel sources," I told him.

Again, I made myself look smart enough to make them, but not smart enough to discover them.

"I see. Since you have equipped your forces so well, I assume they are capable?"

"Yes my Lord. They are well trained. If they are not outnumbered, they will win any battle."

"That is good to hear. I did not plan to give you this mission, but since you are so certain of them, I will give you an important mission."

"Yes my Lord."

"Eratna is rich in naqahdah. We have received information that seems to point that Kuro is stockpiling resources on that planet. We will attack through the stargate as well as from space. As soon as we can, we will capture the points where the resources are stockpiled. Your Jaffa will capture one of those positions."

"I understand... my Lord; I did not receive the same information from my sources. I have forwarded any relevant information concerning Kuro. It sounds too tempting. It could be a trap."

"Yes, I know. Unfortunately Lady Bastet has decided to attack immediately. She does not want to lose this chance."

**-x-x-x-**

Later that day, while we were eating, Kyra looked preoccupied. She was thinking deeply about something.

"My Lady, may I ask a question?" she asked.

"Of course."

"I was wondering ... our weapons and suits are far superior to the normal equipment Jaffa have. It is obvious we would be far better than them in a fight. We can fight against superior numbers. Why are we the only ones? Why aren't the other Goa'uld doing the same with their own Jaffa force? Surely you are not the only one who thought about the advantages of superior weapons, armor and training."

"That is true." I told her. "The answer is very simple. Superior equipment costs resources. Normal armor and staffs are relatively inexpensive compared to your own; they are also very durable, especially the staffs so you can give them to more than one generation. Our Jaffa are far stronger than one hundred normal Jaffa, but the cost of their equipping is astronomical. For a normal Goa'uld, the loss of a Jaffa is the same as the loss of a staff weapon, maybe even less. After all, a staff requires resources to build. A Jaffa comes free - when it is born it is cared by its family, it is fed and trained by its family. Most Goa'uld do nothing. They just provide the staff and armor and they have a warrior. It would be too expensive to do the same thing I do. In their thinking, Jaffa are inexpensive, renewable tools."

"You provided superior equipment," Kyra said.

"I consider myself different from most of my kind. You are far more important than a piece of naqahdah. To me, you are my subjects. The same way it is your duty to serve me, I have a duty to you as well. There is another reason - a more practical one. Quality almost always defeats quantity."

Kyra nodded thoughtfully. Eerie's eyes were widened, but I saw a glimmer of ... something in her eyes. Was it hope? Was it devotion? This was the first time I criticized my kind so openly. The twins just nodded at my comments.

**-x-x-x-**

Four weeks later, we approached Eratna. My Jaffa were preparing for battle and I was on the bridge.

As we exited hyperspace, we were confronted by only one Ha'tak and two bombers. Our fleet engaged the underpowered enemy.

"For a planet that is supposed to have stockpiles of naqahdah, it is too lightly defended," I told Marduk.

"I agree," he responded.

"If you will excuse me, I will go down on the planet with my Jaffa."

"Are you certain Lilith? This looks like a trap. It would be unwise to leave the safety of the ship."

"I know my Lord. However, I invested too much time and resources in my Jaffa. I will not lose them needlessly. I will not be in any great danger."

"Very well," Marduk said.

**-x-x-x-**

My Jaffa were assembled in the ring room. They were quite different from a normal Jaffa. They were all females. They were all suited. And They were all armed with more than a staff and a zat'ni'katel.

The modified staff weapons were different from the standard staffs. It was not only that they were of smaller size. They were also more powerful and had more than a double firing rate.

Besides these two weapons, every Jaffa was armed with the more comfortable plasma rifles. It was also far more accurate than a staff. It was weaker than a shot from a normal staff weapon, but its shots had higher velocity, and the rifle had a high rate of fire.

Two Jaffa from each squad - the heavy weapons specialists, also had a plasma canon each. It is a bigger version of the plasma rifle; its fire is as powerful as the staff canons from a death glider and has the same rate of fire as a normal staff weapon.

Besides these weapons, the Jaffa carries a multitude of other things - from rations to grenades. Every Jaffa had a back pack in which they carried more equipment.

I have managed to keep these weapons hidden from Marduk. I do not want him to realize the full capacity of my Jaffa.

Our fleet took position in high orbit. The bombers entered atmosphere to land. The motherships will use the many ring platforms on the planet, sending troops through them.

It was time to begin.

One of the techs put three drones and activated the ring platform.

"The drones detect nothing," the tech finally said, "no life signs and no energy sources near them."

"Very well," said Kyra. "Squad one, you're first."

**-x-x-x-**

Kyra, Eerie, the twins and I ringed to the planet, after the fourth squad.

While the squads secured the area, drones were sent towards our target.

We slowly followed on their path.

It was strange for such a well protected planet to have no defenses. We should have at least met a Jaffa patrol.

Fifteen minutes later, I received a message from my personal glider. It was in orbit above the planet - I sent it outside the mothership as soon as we arrived. Since it is so small and has enough power, it was relatively easy to install a cloaking device. Its scanners detected incoming ships from hyperspace ... a lot of incoming ships.

The fleet moved from high orbit and prepared to intercept.

I signaled my troops to stop.

"Our fleet is under attack," I tolled the Jaffa, "twenty-five Ha'taks and thirty bombers." I could not see their expressions, since they had their masks on, but I could feel they were worried.

One of the Jaffa came at me with a small globe - a communication device.

An image of Marduk appeared on the globe. "Lilith."

"My Lord."

"It appears we were right. It was a trap. We are outnumbered. Kuro must have stripped the defenses of his planets to gather such a large force: twenty-five Ha'taks and thirty Al'kesh. Our bombers are lifting from the planet. The stargate is opened from the other side. Our Jaffa forces on the planet are stranded. They will have to be abandoned. You will have to call your death glider and leave the planet."

Marduk knew I was able to remotely call my death glider to my position since he was able to do the same thing with his own.

"And my Jaffa?" I asked him.

"Unfortunately, you can do nothing for them."

"I will stay my Lord."

"Stay?"

"This situation is not too surprising. I have made contingency plans for this situation."

"Very well," Marduk replied after a few silent seconds and closed the connection.

I gave the communication device back to the Jaffa.

I could feel the incredulous stares on the Jaffa. No Goa'uld would risk their life for Jaffa. Kyra's helmet retracted. "My lady ... you should go."

"No, I will not leave without you," I told them. I looked at all my Jaffa; I could feel their growing feelings of devotion. "That is my final word." If we live through this, they will belong to me, body and soul.

'Very cunning, Lilith,' Maya said.

'Thank you, Maya.'

It was fortunate I was able to get a detailed map of the planet. It was of course not updated in the last few decades, but at least I knew there are numerous deep caves, four kilometers from our position.

"Four kilometers north of here, there are caves. We will retreat and hide in them until Kuro's forces withdraw."

For a few seconds, Kyra was silent. "Yes my Lady."

We changed course and ran towards safety.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author notes**: First, thank you all for your input.

Something about the second chapter: Why didn't Marduk interposed another ship between him and enemy fire? It was because he wanted to test his shields. He wanted to see how his ship would fare against superior weapon fire. To see what would happen in a fight against superior forces.

Another thing I only partially explained... (and I will say more about this and the obligations, duties and perks Goa'uld have towards one another in the next chapters), is why did Marduk asked Bastet for Jaffa? Marduk could have given her some of his own Jaffa. However, he did a better thing. He informed his ruler that he had a competent subordinate and she gave Lilith a few Jaffa. You may think, "Why would a Goa'uld give something for no profit?" The answer is that they don't. We'll see that Goa'uld have a vested interest in helping their subordinates gain more power.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing. **_

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: December 10 2008.

Edited: December 13 2008.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	5. Chapter 5 Capture

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 5.**

**Capture.**

**-x-x-x-**

We have retreated deeply into the caves. All our equipment and weapons are able to go in stealth mode as long as they are not active. In this way, the chance of detection in open ground is minimal as long as we do not engage in combat and the enemy is not too careful. Since we are deep underground and Goa'uld are not careful, it is practically impossible for Kuro's forces to detect us.

Kyra approached me. "My Lady? It is time for the meeting." She was behaving strangely. She looked ... thoughtful, sad and guilty? Why?

"Very well."

'Perhaps it is because we are stranded here. More importantly you are stranded here,' Maya said. 'She must think we are in grave danger. More importantly, you are in danger. You could have taken the death glider. You could have retreated and let the girls to fend for themselves. Instead, you stayed in a war zone with them. There is a side in her that hates the Goa'uld and by extension, you. There is also a side that is more and more devoted to you. Your decision of staying on the planet made the latter much stronger.'

'Yes. At first I thought this was a very bad situation. Now however, it might be a blessing. It is situations like this that link soldiers together. And since I am here and I will fight with them, this link will extend to us as well. There are also other reasons...'

I took a seat on a rock. The twins were behind me, in their regular positions. Kyra was to my right and Eerie to my left. The eight squad leaders were also present. "Very well. Let us begin."

"Six days ago, our fleet was defeated by Lord Kuro," Eerie started. "He ambushed our fleet and defeated it. We lost four motherships and nine bombers. The enemy lost one mothership and five bombers. Due to their superior forces we were forced to retreat. Currently, there are three motherships and three bombers in high orbit."

"On the ground, the situation is grave," Kyra continued. "When our fleet left, we had approximately six thousand troops stranded on the planet. More than five thousand of them died in the first day, when Kuro counterattacked. In the following day, the remainders were finished. It is possible that we are the only survivors. There might be a few others, but I highly doubt there are more than one hundred. Currently, we have roughly one thousand enemy Jaffa on planet. Two hundred of them are stationed around the stargate. Three hundred are stationed at the pyramid where the Goa'uld that rules this world is located. Two hundred are in the villages and mines, keeping the population in check. The rest are out patrolling. Our best choice would be able to overwhelm the Jaffa guarding the stargate and flee before they receive reinforcements. The problem is that we might get bogged down in fighting. If that happens, we will be attacked by bombers and the death gliders stationed on the motherships. They will also receive Jaffa reinforcements via the ring platforms."

200 enemy Jaffa could not stand against my 100. If they did not receive reinforcements, we would have no problem in dealing with them. However, they would get reinforcements. Even if one of my Jaffa was 10 time's as good as an enemy Jaffa, there are 1000 Jaffa on the planet and probably more than a thousand on the motherships. Quantity is a quality of its own, we would take heavy losses. There are also the motherships and bombers to consider.

"We could try to find our defeated Jaffa," one of the squad leaders said.

Kyra shook her head sadly. "The survivors, if they exist, are scattered and unorganized. They are in no state to fight against superior numbers backed by aerial support. They would only slow us down."

Yes, they would be of no use to us. They would die for nothing and take some of my girls with them.

"My lady, if you defeated the Goa'uld that rules this world, would the Jaffa surrender?" asked another squad leader.

"Unfortunately no. According to our stealth drones, he is only a minor Goa'uld and he is only in temporary control of this world. The Jaffa do not belong to him. No matter what happens to him, the Jaffa will not surrender."

"We can use the ring transporters to gain entrance to the ships," another squad leader said. "Our scouts will be able to infiltrate them without too much trouble. If we sabotage the ships, we won't have too much trouble with the surface enemy Jaffa."

It was a good idea. Jaffa scouts were the best suited for infiltration missions. They were also well-trained in assassination and disguise methods. The helmets my Jaffa wore were made from smart metal that could imitate the helmets of other Goa'uld. It was of course not the best disguise. After all, there were other reasons my Jaffa could not be confused with other Jaffa, like their breasts and their deep dark suits. However, my scouts were a bit special: their suits had holographic projectors. They were rather crude, but quite efficient. As long as they didn't make sudden moves, they could project the clothing and armor of other Jaffa. They could not change something as complex as the person's face, but as long as their heads had the helmets on, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Or we could steal a mothership," another squad leader said.

There were nods of acceptance at the idea.

"I believe I might have a better solution," I said. "If we can sabotage the ships or steal a mothership, what keeps us from capturing all of them?"

**-x-x-x-**

A few days later, we finished our preparations. Eerie presented again the outline of our battle plan. "Squad 1, 2 and 3 will infiltrate the motherships. Squad 4, 5 and 6 will infiltrate the bombers and take control of them. Squads 7, 8 along with Kyra, the twins and Lady Lilith will attack the pyramid. I will pilot the Lady's death glider and I'll be in overall command of our ships..."

I stopped paying attention to Eerie. Everybody knows the plan backwards and forwards. The girls were a little frightened and nervous, but confident. This would be their first true battle. Yes, they were better trained than most Jaffa. However, they were green troops. The twins had a strange gleam in their eyes; they were excited about the coming battle. Eerie was just as professional as always, however, she was naturally nervous of her new duties. After the ships were under our control, it would be her job to command them. Kyra was the least nervous of them all, after the twins of course. She was also very excited.

'It's probably because you're going to kill a Goa'uld,' Maya said.

'Yes, she is positively giddy about that, especially about this guy. He is in the same category as Bastet and Kuro in the nastiness department. Such waste on this planet... such stupidity. I wonder how come my race still exists.'

'It's probably because the other races are just as stupid.'

'Yes Maya, you're right; the Goa'uld do not have monopoly on stupidity.'

"Any questions?" Eerie asked after she finished.

-x-x-x-

Night finally came. Together with Kyra, the twins, squad seven and squad eight, we crept near the pyramid. We were only 500 meters from the entrance.

Kyra made a signal with her fingers and we all hid ourselves.

Since Goa'uld were not in the habit of checking for communications, we took the reasonable risk of communicating over encrypted channels.

"Squad three reporting. We have reached the platform. We have engaged and killed a squad of Jaffa. Proceeding."

It had begun. Squads one through six were about to board the enemy vessels. The plan depended on them.

"Squad one reporting. Ready to ring... We have boarded target one. No enemy in sight. Proceeding."

"Squad two reporting. We have boarded target two. We engaged and killed six enemy Jaffa. Proceeding."

"Squad three reporting. We have boarded target three. No enemy in sight. Proceeding."

"Squad four reporting. We have boarded target four. No enemy in sight. Proceeding."

"Squad five reporting. We have boarded target five. No enemy in sight. Proceeding."

"Squad six reporting. We have boarded target six. We engaged and killed heavy enemy resistance. Proceeding."

I hope they are going well.

"Squad five reporting. We have control of target five. We have no casualties."

"Squad four reporting. We have control of target four. We have no casualties."

"Squad six reporting. We have control of target six. We have two Jaffa with moderate injuries. The healer is taking care of them."

I'm glad they survived. If they took moderate damage while having the suits on, then they would have certainly died without them.

"Squad one reporting. We are in position. Sending scouts ahead."

The first three squads will take control of the motherships.

"Squad two reporting. We are in position. Sending scouts ahead."

"Squad three reporting. We are in position. Sending scouts ahead."

I waited for several minutes, hoping that the first three squads would not get into serious trouble before they reached the bridge.

"Squad one reporting. We are in control of the bridge. Sealing doors."

"Squad two reporting. We are in control of the bridge. Sealing doors."

"Squad three reporting. We are in control of the bridge. Sealing doors."

Now, the most important part of the plan was to be implemented. Normally, Jaffa don't know how to do this. However, my Jaffa are well-trained in the ways of Goa'uld technology. They should not take too long to break the codes.

"Squad one reporting. We have closed life-support everywhere except the bridge. Venting atmosphere."

I smile grimly as squad two and three reported the same thing. The motherships were mine. My Jaffa, as well-trained and equipped as they were, could not defeat the entire contingent of a Goa'uld mothership. Even if the motherships had large numbers of enemy Jaffa, soon they will all be dead due to asphyxiation.

"Let's move," Kyra said. "Scouts, move ahead and clear the path."

Four scouts crept ahead of us, using the cover of darkness to silently kill any enemy Jaffa that might see us.

A few minutes later, we managed to sneak inside the pyramid. We went on a side passage to hide ourselves of enemy patrols.

"Squad four through six, your techs, and pilots will remain with the bombers; the rest, start ringing to the pyramid.

Since the bombers were small enough to be secured from enemy Jaffa, they only needed the bare minimum to pilot the ship. The motherships on the other hand, were too big to be secured. Though improbable, enemy Jaffa could still have survived. As such, they needed the squads that captured them for security. Because of that, squad one, two and three would stay on the motherships and protect the bridge from attack. Squad 4, 5 and 6 were not needed for the protection of the bombers. As such, they (with the exceptions of the pilots and techs) would ring to the pyramid and join the ground attack.

"Squad four reporting. We have secured the ring room. Squad five and six are ringing down."

"This is Eerie. Ha'tak vessels, enter low orbit and begin planetary assault of the Stargate area."

With this, the Jaffa protecting the Stargate would be killed by the motherships. They will not escape through the Stargate, nor will they be able to call for help.

"Bombers, you will attack the pyramid area. Do not attack the pyramid itself. Our forces are inside."

Eerie and the bombers would not only kill many enemy Jaffa, they will also draw the attention from us.

We carefully crept towards the center room, where the Goa'uld was located. My Jaffa that ringed from the bombers, were doing the same thing.

"This is Eerie. Engaging plasma cannons."

Eerie was piloting my death glider. Though much smaller than the bombers, the death glider was better than they were. But what most Goa'uld weapons lacked most, was accuracy. It was not such a big problem for motherships, but for smaller ships, it was quite the problem. Normal death gliders for example, could only fire straight in front of them. It was an easily corrected problem. All I had to do was to change the fixed weapons with weapons that could move. Also, I installed a simple artificial intelligence that would track the target. The only thing the pilot had to do was to select the target and fire. The artificial intelligence would aim the weapons with far greater precision than any human pilot could hope to achieve.

Four consecutive explosions were heard outside the pyramid.

"Eerie reporting. All enemy staff cannons are destroyed."

Eerie destroyed the four staff cannons that defended this pyramid. Now, Eerie and the three bombers could attack with impunity. It was of course not entirely safe. After all, they could still be shut down by normal staff fire. However, normal staff fire needed quite a few hits to critically damage bombers or my death glider. If that happened, they could withdraw before they were destroyed.

More heavy explosions are heard. The bombers must have joined the battle.

Kyra gave the signal for attack. Squad seven rushed forward. I was right behind them. Squad seven ran into enemy Jaffa and they opened fire on them. Immediately, plasma rifle blasts mowed down the enemy front ranks. A second later, the heavy fire from two plasma cannons fell in the middle of the remaining Jaffa, disorganizing them further. A second later, they were all dead.

A few moments later, we were in front of the doors of the central chamber. The heavy weapons specialists from both squads opened fire at the doors with their plasma cannons, breaking them.

Two members of squad seven threw inside the chamber one grenade each. After the bright flash of light subsided squad seven entered the chamber, while squad eighth took defensive positions outside the entrance.

Inside, all enemy Jaffa were stunned. Only the Goa'uld was standing. He was heading towards the secondary entrance of the room. However, before he took more than a few steps, the door he was heading towards blew up and squad four stepped through the broken door, in front of him, stopping his retreat.

The Goa'uld stopped, turned around and stared at me.

For a moment, he thought I was Jaffa. After all, my suit had the same design and color as my Jaffa's. Usually, Goa'uld wore gaudy clothing and armor. Then, he caught sight of my hand device. Like my armor, it was black and I considered it my greatest creation so far. Besides the normal functions that any normal Goa'uld hand device had, it could also project an energy shield - something only very powerful Goa'uld had.

"Who are you?" the Goa'uld demanded.

"I am Lilith. Surrender and I shall make your death painless."

The Goa'uld's hand device glowed. "Die," he snarled. A powerful shockwave rushed towards me. I activated my hand device and the powerful shield appeared around me, making the blast useless. His eyes widened in surprise. Only very powerful Goa'uld had hand devices that could make shields. I too, sent a shockwave towards him. He fell down stunned for a moment and Kyra, who had a small smirk, used her zat'ni'katel to render him unconscious. Two Jaffa carefully walked towards the unconscious Goa'uld and liberated his weapon from him and secured him.

"Eerie? What is the state of the Stargate area?" I ask her over my suit communication unit.

"The forces protecting the Stargate were defeated. They did not try to open the Stargate," Eerie responded.

"Kyra, leave one squad here to protect this room. Take the rest and destroy Kuro's forces," I ordered.

"Yes my Lady," Kyra replied. "Squad eight will remain here. Squads four through seven, follow me."

We succeeded. We captured the ships protecting this world and the Goa'uld that rules her. Soon, the remaining disorganized Jaffa that hold this world would be defeated. By Goa'uld law and tradition, this world is mine. This is not a common world; it is a planet rich in naqahdah. Equipping my Jaffa force with their new weapons and suits was extremely expensive. I expended almost my entire (considerable) amount of resources I managed to gather since my birth. Just the resources I expended on a single Jaffa were enough to equip 100 normal Jaffa. Since one of my Jaffa could not defeat 100 Jaffa in combat, this was not a cost effective solution for other Goa'uld. However, for me it was perfect, especially now, when I have gained control of the planet rich in naqahdah.

**.-x-x-x-.**

A few hours later, Kyra and Eerie returned victorious. "My lady, we won the day," Kyra said.

"You have done well, and so did our Jaffa." I did not doubt our victory. Our qualitative superiority coupled with our new ships and our defensive positions we managed to gain, was too great an advantage for us.

"Thank you my Lady."

"Do we have any casualties?" I asked.

"No my Lady," Kyra answered. "There were a few injuries, but the healers took care of them."

"That is good." I turned towards Eerie. "What is the condition of our new ships?"

"Your death glider has suffered no damage," she responded. "One of the bombers has suffered light damage. The motherships have returned to high orbit. We turned life-support back online and scoured them for any enemy Jaffa. All enemy Jaffa that were on board the motherships were dead."

I turned to my Goa'uld captive. "I have some questions for you," I told him.

"Release me!"

"No. You're going to die. The question is how. If you answer my questions truthfully, I will give you a quick and painless death. If not, you will die in horrible pain. Then, I will resurrect you and give you to Bastet. She must be very upset for the trap she stumbled into. If I give you to her, she will torture, kill and resurrect you until you go insane. She is not known for moderation."

The Goa'uld's eyes widened in terror. Bastet or Kuro for that matter were cruel and brutal with their enemies; especially with those that got in their way. He knew I was speaking the truth. If I gave him to Bastet, he will suffer for eternity. "Very well," he said in surrender. "What do you wish to know?"

"How did Kuro managed to trick Bastet?" I asked.

"I do not know. I was not privy to this information."

"Kuro is stockpiling resources. Where?"

"I only know that every year, he takes his private Jaffa with many resources and travels through the Stargate to an unknown planet. No one knows where it is located, only Kuro does."

"Very well. That's the only thing I wanted to know."

'Aren't you too greedy?' Maya asked.

I turned to Kyra. "Kyra, finish him."

Kyra's eyes widened in surprise. It was... tradition for Goa'uld to kill Goa'uld and Jaffa to kill Jaffa. "Yes my Lady."

'How you enjoy corrupting their minds,' Maya said.

**.-x-x-x-.**

**Author Notes**: Now that Lilith has a steady supply of naqahdah, what will she do? And what will she do with her new domain, a domain whose population is much too overworked, weak, abused and sick even by the standards of the most abusive Goa'uld, as we will see in the next chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

_**Please review.**_

Published: December 21, 2008.

-voider-

**.-x-x-x-.**


	6. Chapter 6 New world

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 6.**

**New world.**

**-x-x-x-**

The day after we conquered Eratna, I went into the human settlement to inspect it, taking the twins that always shadow me, Kyra and Eerie.

As soon as we arrived, the natives cowered from us. Until that moment, I did not realize the extent by which the humans were abused. Before we conquered the planet, we only concentrated our surveillance drones on the enemy forces. The slaves were mostly ignored. I had realized that the humans were overworked and underfed, but I did not think it would be to this extent.

All the villagers were skin and bones, even the children; especially the children.

'That bastard died too quickly,' Maya snarled inside my mind. It is truly a disturbing sight to see suffering children like this. They should still have their baby-fat.

Goa'uld do not feel the overwhelming need to protect the young as most species do. However, due to my joining with Maya in a symbiotic relationship, some of her human emotions and instincts were passed to me, the same way some of my Goa'uld instincts were passed to her. 'If you wish, I can revive him. We captured a sarcophagus. You can revive and kill him as you please.'

Maya mentally shuddered at the tempting thought. 'No thanks.'

An older man approached me and kneeled at my feet.

"Rise. Are you the village leader?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"As I defeated your former master, I am now your new ruler."

The man flinched at my distorted, Goa'uld voice. "Yes, my Lady."

"Your people are too weak to work in the mines."

The old man's eyes widened in terror. "We can still work. Please..."

"Silence!"

'He thinks you're going to kill them,' Maya said shocked.

'A different Goa'uld might have done just that, especially if he had more slaves - strong and healthy ones,' I replied to Maya. "Village leader, since your people are too sick and weak, I will have to change that. My Jaffa will bring you food and heal you."

The man almost cried in relief. "Yes, my Lady. Thank you. We will not disappoint you."

I left the village and headed back, towards the pyramid - my new residence. "Kyra, send all Jaffa who can use the healing device into the village. If there are any grave injuries, they can use the sarcophagus we captured."

"Yes, my Lady," Kyra replied. "My Lady?" my first prime said after a few moments of silence, "may I ask why you did not have one prior to this?"

"A sarcophagus?"

"Yes, my Lady. It is unlike you not to have such a useful tool at your disposal."

I nodded at the statement. "It is a very expensive piece of technology. As long as I am in the service of Bastet and Marduk, they will provide one if I am in need of one. There is also another reason - though very useful, it has a flaw. It is not wise to ... overuse it. If used sparingly, only when gravely injured, there is no problem. However, if used too often, the sarcophagus becomes an addictive drug instead of healing. This is one of the reasons for the megalomania of the Goa'uld. Many Goa'uld sleep in them daily. The result of years or even centuries of constant use does not lead to a sane mind. For these reasons, I did not consider acquiring a sarcophagus a priority."

"I see," Kyra nodded. "If that is the case, is it wise to let the villagers use it?"

"Of course," I replied. "The addiction comes only with constant use. As long as it is used only rarely and when in real need of it, there is no danger."

"Very well."

**-x-x-x-**

Later that day, after dinner, Kyra informed me of the state of the villagers.

"It appears that almost a quarter of the villagers died from hunger, sickness and exhaustion in the last few years. The healers say that in a few weeks, they will be fully recovered if they rest, eat plenty of food and if in the case of the more serious cases, they use the sarcophagus."

"That is good. What about Bastet's Jaffa?"

"Some of them approached our patrols after our battle. We have also finished scouring the surroundings. We used the stealth drones and patrols to find the others. Currently, there are seventy-four surviving Jaffa from Bastet's forces. It is unlikely there are more, but we are still searching. We set them in a camp away from the village.

"Good. What about Kuro's Jaffa?"

"It appears that they suspected they had superior numbers when we attacked. Because of that, they kept trying to defeat us with their superior numbers in our superior defensive positions. There are only fourteen survivors among them. They are locked and under guard."

"Good," I said in aproval.

"My lady? What are we going to do with them?" Kyra asked.

"That is a good question," I nodded. "What do you think?"

"They will not betray Kuro," Kyra sighed. "Even if they did, their families would pay the price if Kuro found out about them. We could give them to Bastet, but if we did, she would find out about our battle. I assume you want to keep her in the dark about the details of what happened?"

"Indeed," I nodded.

"We could send them back to Kuro, but we want to keep things secret from him even more than we want to keep them secret from Bastet."

"That is correct." I was glad to see that they did not think much of lying to Bastet. While all of Bastet's Jaffa that were in the service of one of her Goa'uld, theoretically belonged to her first, in practice, after a few years in the service of another Goa'uld, that loyalty was transferred. I am glad that in such a short time, I managed to make them mine.

"We could keep them prisoners," Kyra said with reluctance, "but they would be a security risk."

I nodded once again.

"The best choice for us is to kill them."

"Eerie? Do you concur?" I asked the thoughtful girl.

"Yes, my Lady. It is unfortunate, but I see no better choice."

I looked at the twins and they nodded in approval of the decision.

We all fell silent for a few moments. Eerie was the one to dispel it. "My Lady, Why does Kuro overwork and starve his human slaves?"

A very good question, I thought, before responding. "Bastet, who is a System Lord, is too strong for Kuro. For that reason, Kuro's eventual defeat is certain. Kuro is stockpiling resources. Bastet thought he did that on this planet, but she was obviously wrong about that." Kyra smiled at the thought of the damage suffered by Bastet. "The Goa'uld we captured said Kuro has a planet he is sending them, but it is known only to Kuro and his most trusted Jaffa. It is obvious that Kuro is hurrying to take as many resources from his territory while he still can. Overworking the slaves has two benefits: first is that he mines more resources for the few years he is still in control of these planets; second is that when Bastet conquers them, she will be forced to find other slaves to work the mines. It is the ideal solution for someone like him."

**-x-x-x-**

Having a world of my own will do wonderful things to my power base. Since I am in complete control of this planet, I will be able to continue my work without worrying about other Goa'uld finding out what I am doing. But the primary reason I am glad for this planet is that I can mine naqahdah - the lifeblood of the Goa'uld civilization. Until now, I had to make do with few resources. A small part of these resources came from Marduk, as payment for my services. I was also in charge of intelligence gathering. The payment for the information came from Marduk. The bulk of my resources however, came from the work I did to Marduk's ships. Even one percent from the resources needed for a mothership is a lot. As I am quite efficient, I was able to save a small percentage for myself. In this way I was able to equip my Jaffa with the work of many years. Now however, I have a planet rich in naqahdah. I will be able to use it for many things.

**-x-x-x-**

A few days later, after I finished with the most urgent matters on Eratna, it was time to see Bastet.

Kyra dialed Bubastis, and Bastet's Jaffa that survived entered through the stargate. Next, two squats of my own Jaffa entered. They would head towards my residence and begin moving my equipment from Bubastis to my new world.

Before I entered the stargate, when only the twins, Kyra and I were left, I stopped. "Kyra. I know you have good reasons to dislike Bastet. You must not do anything that will endanger us."

"I will not disappoint you."

**-x-x-x-**

I was taken to the audience chamber where Bastet and her lieutenants were waiting for me. Kyra and the twins headed to a side wall.

I bowed at the System Lord. "Lady Bastet, I have returned."

"Lilith. I am surprised to see you. I was under the impression you were lost on Eratna. Tell me, what happened?"

"After I found out about the ambush, I took my Jaffa and hid. After the ground battle, Kuro's forces quickly left, leaving only three motherships and three bombers to protect the planet. When their forces relaxed their guard, I infiltrated the ships and captured them. After that, using the ships, I defeated Kuro's ground forces."

"Did you capture the Goa'uld who ruled that world?"

"Yes my Lady. He was only a minor Goa'uld. He did not have any knowledge of any sensitive information. There was one thing I managed to learn. It appears Kuro is indeed stockpiling resources. Unfortunately, the location he sends his resources is secret. Only Kuro and his personal Jaffa go there."

"I see," Bastet said thoughtfully.

"My Lady, I believe I Know what Kuro is planning."

"Oh?"

"On Eratna, the human workers were overworked. Some of them died. In short term, the result is more resources. However long term, it leads to lack of slaves. I believe Kuro was planning on abandoning the planet in a few more years and did not care if they died. I suggest finding out if he has other worlds with similar conditions. It might be that he is planning to retreat from this region. Since he does not have sufficient strength to hold them, he will probably abandon all worlds that are close to your territory."

Bastet was silent for a long time, pondering my words. "You might be right. Janak," she told her personal lieutenant, "I want you to investigate this matter."

Janak, bowed slightly in confirmation. He was the Goa'uld in charge with Bastet's administrative work. He was performing similar functions to the ones I did for Marduk.

"What of Eratna; were there any stockpiles?"

"No my lady. I have scoured the planet, but I found none. There was only the naqahdah mined in the last severel months."

"I see. You have done well Lilith. Eratna is yours to govern in my name."

"Thank you, my Lady," I bowed.

"Discuss the details to Janak," she finished in dismissal.

Janak exited the chambers and I followed him.

**-x-x-x-**

A few minutes later, I was in his office, together with Kyra.

The man sat at a computer console. "You said you have a few months worth of naqahdah."

"Indeed. I will order the deliverance as soon as I return," I replied.

As I was part of an operation ordered by Bastet, I am now her direct subordinate. If the fleet that attacked Eratna was led by Marduk instead of Bastet and if it was composed only of his own forces, then I would have continued to be his vassal. However, Bastet was in charge and most of the forces that attacked it, were hers. This means that the planet falls under her direct jurisdiction. Who is my direct superior is important because of my duties, now that I rule a world. I must give tribute - half of what I produce.

As Lords with smaller domains usually need resources that they do not produce, be they Jaffa, weapons, ships, food, naqahdah, raw resources or high tech equipment, what remains is usually traded for them.

"Very well," Janak said. "Anything else?"

"Yes. I will need one thousand Jaffa."

The Goa'uld glanced at Kyra, who was behind me. "Girls again?"

"Indeed."

"That is a strange choice. Males are better warriors."

I felt Kyra bristle behind me.

"They conquered a world for me. I think it shows that my choice was good."

"Very well," he shrugged. "Now that we got that out of the way ..."

**-x-x-x-**

Two hours later, the meeting was finished and I headed to the place that was my home on Bubastis for more than a decade.

As soon as we reached it, Kyra groaned. "That was really boring," she said, referring to the two hours of compete boredom I spent with Janak.

"You should get used to it," I said amused. "The Goa'uld lack the bureaucracy other races have. You should be thankful for that. In the future, as what I am trying to accomplish grows and develops, as our numbers increase, as our culture grows more complex and we branch in many directions, the need for this kind of things will also grow. We will have data bases, reports, files on everything and anything. As my first prime, as one of my commanders, you will need to get used to it. It will be different from what we now have. As we have only one hundred Jaffa, the need is not great, but when you have millions, it will be different."

Kyra nodded a little disgruntled with the idea.

"Let's go. We have work to do," I said, contemplating the movement of all my equipment, resources and even training facilities to my new world.

**-x-x-x-**

A few days later, I finished the modification on one of the two cargoships found after the battle. One of them, the more advanced one was the personal ship of the Goa'uld I defeated.

"Kyra, I want a team for a very important mission," I told my first prime at the usual dinner meeting.

The girl nodded in obvious puzzlement.

"I installed a stealth system on the cargoship," I told her. "I want a team to infiltrate Kuro's homeworld. Their mission is to find out the location of the world Kuro is sending his resources, without letting him know we did. I already prepared their equipment."

"Very well," Kyra nodded.

If I manage to capture Kuro's resources and Kuro himself, I will be in an even better situation than I am now. As it is now, with a low population and limited resources, it would be hard to expand. If I get my hands on more resources however, I will be able to not only get more Jaffa. I will be able to properly equip them. I will be able to upgrade my motherships. More importantly, I will be able to expand my industrial base. Unlike others of my kind, I will not use inefficient human slaves. I will educate them bit by bit, introducing newer and more efficient technologies.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: There are two things I want to say since I saw a few questions about this.

I said this happens a few centuries in the past. Since a Jaffa's life is much shorter than that period of time, some may wonder if Lilith's Jaffa will survive that long period of time. The answer is yes, but that's still a few chapters away so you'll have to wait for the particulars of how this will be accomplished.

Another thing I was asked ... about SG1. Yes we will see SG1, but I planned at least ten more chapters until we reach that point.

Like ripples in a pond, Lilith's emergence will cause changes in the timeline.

_Thank you for reading and reviewing. _

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: January 13 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	7. Chapter 7 Administration

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 7.**

**Administration.**

**-x-x-x-**

In less than a week, my new Jaffa were taken to Eratna. All of them are among the top two percent most promising female Jaffa. Fortunately, the planet had a pyramid. While on Bubastis I was given a small compound, though sufficient for my needs at that time, now I had over one thousand Jaffa. Fortunately, my new residence - the pyramid that is the first thing build by a Goa'uld on a new planet, is large enough for my present needs.

My commanders begun the recruits' training almost immediately. It is unfortunate that they will not be as well equipped as my experienced one hundred Jaffa. The resources I expended until now exhausted my stockpile. As the price of properly equipping even one Jaffa is astronomically high, it will take some time to gather the sufficient resources to fully equip all of them, even with a world that produces naqahdah. Until that time, they will have to settle with what I can afford, which is not that much.

There is also the problem of my new debt.

Those first Jaffa I received, were given to me as a reward for my work, but such rewards are usually given to all young Goa'uld after they prove themselves capable. As I conquered my own territory, I can now pay for my own expenses. This means that from now on, I must pay for everything, new Jaffa included.

As I ... bought one thousand Jaffa, I need to pay for them. I was given a certain amount of leeway and I do not have to pay for them immediately. Instead, I must pay for them in the next few years.

Fortunately, after the battle, I have more than a thousand staff weapons from Kuro's Jaffa. I also have their armor. Unfortunately as far as I'm concerned, all that armor is useless for protection. However, I can still use them as raw resources.

Until I gather enough resources, I can not equip them properly. Because of that, I must make some sacrifices. I have decided that my trainee Jaffa will have to wait a bit until they are up to standard. Until then, they will have to use the normal staff weapons. They also need to learn how to use the rifles, since I consider them the main weapon. Unfortunately, they cost quite a lot, so they will have to settle with a limited number of training rifles.

Besides that, I also need to make the mining more efficient.

The usual way of mining resources for the Goa'uld is very primitive. For naqahdah, the miners use primitive tools to mine the raw ore. After that, they are carried, using muscle force to the surface, where the ore is refined, resulting in naqahdah and a few other useful by-products. The naqahdah however, is the most important result. The process is a long, expensive one; it is also an inefficient one.

I would like to get rid of this inefficiency. However, I can not do that for a number of reasons. First of them being that I do not have the necessary resources. There is also the fact that I need skilled, educated workers for advanced technological machines. I could use my Jaffa, but it would be unwise. I need them for their true purpose: to fight. Yes, I may use them as techs and engineers, but they are not workers. I would rather use the humans for this task. This means I will have to, long term, educate them. Unfortunately, that is still many years away. Until then, I can compromise and introduce improvements step by step.

The primitive way of doing things does not stop at mining. The same thing happens in every other facet of the Goa'uld economy. The technology is as primitive as possible when it is in the hands of the humans. Even when they do work with more advanced tech, they do not understand it.

If Bastet were to find out about the changes I made, I would probably be in danger. Goa'uld frown upon what I am about to do.

I am almost certain that I have no spies among my original Jaffa, that the chance that there is a spy among my new Jaffa is small and that the chance of Kuro having a spy in the village is very small since my Jaffa scoured the village for any form of communication device or power source. However, there is the chance of an infiltration from one of Bastet's rivals. If I become too strong too fast, even Bastet might send a spy.

I do not intend to show my true strength, but Kuro may try to take back his planet. While I am sure of victory as long as his forces are not too strong, if I do win, my reputation will grow. Even if Kuro doesn't attack, a planet like Eratna is always a tempting target. Sooner or later I will have to fight. When that happens, I will become interesting for the Goa'uld. I will gain reputation if I win. Someone might take an interest in me. There is also the fact that it is not unusual for the Goa'uld to scout or spy on their targets. I must do anything in my power to keep what happens on this planet secret.

**-x-x-x-**

On my next meeting with my commanders, I asked the seven techs to wait outside the meeting chamber.

I seated myself at the long table, the commanders followed suit easily and I began the meeting. "Anything to report before I call the techs?"

Kyra stood straighter to draw my attention. "The trainees are settled. We have started their training and they are responding well to it. Since now we are more experienced, we are doing quite well; better than we did with our first Jaffa when we started training. The only thing they will have problems with, is in their hand to hand ability since they have no suits to help them in their training."

I nodded. "That is unfortunate, but acceptable."

"We have enough training rifles for them, so we have no problem here. The only thing I am worried about is that the training facilities are a bit too crowded due to the large numbers of trainees. We managed to make a good schedule by which they all have some time, but it is still not ideal.

"Unfortunately, more training rooms will have to wait as we have more urgent things to do. Anything else?"

"No, my Lady. Everything is going according to plan."

"Very well. Eerie, you can call the techs in."

Eerie nodded and ushered the seven techs.

I motioned to the table and the techs sat down uncertainly.

I pressed a key on my computer console, and a hologram of a suit appeared over the table. "This is a suit, work version," I explained. "It is basically a similar suit to the one you have. The difference is that it is build from less expensive materials and it is much simpler. Also, almost any technology besides the power source was removed. The only thing it retains is the strength given by the exoskeleton, the air filters and the protection. Since the suit is made from less expensive alloys than the military version, the work version gives far less protection than the military one, but that is still quite a lot. This suit will be used by the human workers in the mines."

I clicked again on the console and the hologram changed. "This is a medium size, simple refinery. It is a design from one of the races the Goa'uld conquered. You basically put the ore at one end, and at the other end you get pure resources. As a bonus, we also get a few other metals. It does use quite a bit of power, but a naqahdah generator is more than enough to power it."

I clicked again. "This is a train cart. Very simple to build. Powered by a naqahdah generator. It will be used to transport the raw ore from the mine to the refinery." Another click. "These are the tracks needed for the cart; they are quite easy to make."

Another click. "And finally, this is a drill. It will greatly improve the efficiency of the mining operation. There are a few other simple tools that we have to make. Most of the tools used by the workers are made from low quality materials. We can easily make all these simple tools with strong, but relatively inexpensive alloys, using Goa'uld technology. We will make all these in the next two months.

All these tools and machines are not only relatively easy to build, but they also do not require any sort of maintenance except once a few years; though I think that by that time, we will have better ones, so it will not be needed. They can be build using relatively common, inexpensive resources. As a bonus, unlike the military rifles and suits that are made from extremely expensive alloys, all of them require only a small amount of expensive or critical resources and they are very easy to use. The train-cart is easy to use - you need only a few minutes to familiarize to the controls. The refinery will work automatically. The suits are also easy to use as you all know; they will help with the more tiring and dangerous aspects of the miners work. The drills require only a few days to properly learn how to use them.

You will help me with their construction. Any questions?"

**-x-x-x-**

Three weeks later, we finished the first batch of work suits.

While not all of the human workers were fully healed, some of them were.

Eerie delivered the suits to the humans and demonstrated its abilities. Needless to say, the humans were suitably impressed.

The humans begun to transport ballast for the rail track. Fortunately, there was more than enough as a result of the traditional refining method.

At the same time, I began transporting the train tracks to the mine entrance using the cargoship and bombers as transports.

Fortunately, since the humans had their work suits, the track was progressing quite fast.

A week later, the train and its wagon parts were transported to the mine, where it was assembled.

By this time, all the work suits were completed and the rest of the human miners were working on completing the tracks.

Another week later, we started the assembly of the refinery and two weeks later, it was complete.

The miners' job was now an easy one especially since I decided that they would work only six hours per day. Under the previous management, they worked almost fifteen hours per day, they were underfed and their work conditions were not good. Now, they worked only six hours, they had plenty of food; if they got sick one of my healers would take care of them; they had to waste less effort due to their suit. The most important however, was that the suits protected them from the all too common work related accidents. While the work suit was nowhere near as resistant as the combat one, it was still good enough to save them from almost all accidents. Another problem the suit protected them from, was the harsh environment of the mines. The suit took care of all that; it could even filter the air. All in all, the humans were more than happy with their new work conditions.

All they had to do, was mine the ore and load it into the train carts. After that, the train would transport the carts to the surface and unload them into the refinery. Since the refinery was automated, the only other thing that had to be done was move the resulting resources into warehouses. Besides the small, but precious amount of naqahdah, other elements resulted. Some were other rare, precious elements, others were heavy metals or more common but still useful elements.

**-x-x-x-**

Months passed, the mine had a good output. While I had to deliver roughly half my naqahdah production to Bastet, she did not knew the true amount my mine produces. As such, I delivered less than ten percent instead of fifty percent.

Since my ten percent was a bit more than a normal Goa'uld would have produced, Janak was pleased with my tribute.

Since my resource production was going quite well, I began the production of new equipment for my Jaffa and the expansion of my training rooms. While I doubt I'll equip my entire Jaffa force by the end of the year, I will manage to properly equip a few of them.

Now, if only the Jaffa sent to find where Kuro is going succeed in their mission, I will not only have his stockpiles, but also a new planet. Knowing Kuro, the planet will have a few motherships in orbit and the planet itself will be in a relatively safe and isolated region of the galaxy.

It is never too early to prepare for defeat. If Eratna is invaded and I lose, I must have a new world. A safe world.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's notes**: a few answers and explanations to my reviews.

Lilith doesn't have a Jaffa mark. All of her Jaffa are marked with Bastet's mark.

My Marduk is not the same Goa'uld that was briefly introduced in the series.

Lilith's compound on Bubastis is something similar to the company car. She works for the System Lord, therefore the System Lord must provide for the Goa'uld a certain standard of living. After all, the number of Goa'uld is very low. Bastet can easily afford giving a small compound to one of her few Goa'uld. She doesn't even lose any resources. If there is no compound available, she can just order the construction of one and her human slaves will do it free of cost. Also since a Goa'uld is a god, even the lowliest of them must have a private, "little palace." After all certain standards must be kept.

How long will this story be? As I said previously, I have planned about fourteen chapters (for now) before the beginning of Season 1. I may add a few more if I have any more good ideas. After that? I'm not sure... at least ten more chapters. I think that when completed, this will be about 80,000 - 100,000 words.

What Lilith does will make some changes in the timeline.

The Stargate SG1 timeline is the ... lucky timeline. It is the timeline in which everything goes perfectly for Earth. We have seen that almost all of the other timelines SG1 encountered were not so good for Earth. Most of the timelines are timelines in which Earth is conquered or destroyed.

Another thing ... the series has a certain ... message. Many times some entity sacrificed itself or the humans sacrificed it for the greater good ... so that the humans would survive. For example, there was that time when that nice Goa'uld sacrificed herself on ... that planet with naquadria, Kelowna. Or when the humans manipulated the human replicators.

Let us take a few examples:

_Skara is taken as a host, and then he is freed from the Goa'uld. In the end, he ascends. _

_Cassandra has a bomb implanted inside her. She survives._

_Humans become the greatest military power by the end of the series._

All in all, humans got it quite good. Now, let's see the aliens.

_The android girl that created the replicators; Jack kills her._

_The replicator girl used to kill the Asuran replicators dies._

_The nice Goa'uld that saved Kelowna dies._

_The Tok'ra have no queen. They are dieing as a race._

_The Asgard died out._

_The replicators died, even the nice Dr. Weir human replicator._

All in all, the humans always live while all the aliens die. This not only happens to the evil Goa'uld, but also to the nice Asgard and Tok'ra.

Needless to say, my timeline will not have a super lucky Earth who **always** destroys their enemies. Maybe they'll be slightly lucky ... but that's all. Also, probably, the mortality rate of the aliens will be smaller.

Sorry if I was too long with my AN. This chapter was a bit small, but I needed to finish it at this point.

Next chapter, will Lilith meets Kuro?

_Thank you for reading and reviewing. _

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: February 10, 2009.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	8. Chapter 8 Kuro’s refuge

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 8.**

**Kuro's refuge.**

**-x-x-x-**

The cargoship dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the solar system. It quickly engaged its stealth field and headed insystem. When the ship approached the planet, the pilot was careful to move slowly through the bombers and motherships that protected it, not wanting to risk alerting the enemy sensors of their presence.

The planet was Kuro's primary world.

The cargoship landed ten kilometers away from the planet's main settlement and the two squad's scouts exited and made their way through the night.

Two hours later, the scouts began planting listening devices throughout the Jaffa settlements, the Stargate area and the pyramid.

**-x-x-x-**

For five months, the squad tasked with discovering the location of Kuro's stockpiles confined themselves to the cargoship, gathering data. They did not find the location, but they knew that only his most trusted Jaffa accompanied him on his trips. And they knew who they were and where their armor was stored. They also discovered that Kuro was always sending stockpiles around the same date every year (give or take a few weeks) and he always accompanied the transport.

Again, the two scouts had to plant new listening devices. Only these ones would not transmit anything until they received an activation code, due to the risk of detection. Kuro might be paranoid enough to scan for them when he left. Until then, they would only record, thus reducing the risk of discovery.

After the scouts planted the tiny bugs all over the Jaffa's armor, they retreated.

A week later, Kuro left.

Another week later, he returned.

**-x-x-x-**

One of the twins entered my chamber. "My lady," she said presenting me with a data crystal, "the squad we send to keep Kuro under surveillance has returned."

"Is that so? Were they successful in their mission?" I asked.

"Yes, my lady."

"That is good news. Call the others for a meeting in an hour. Have the squad leader attend."

An hour later, I entered the meeting room. Lilith, Eerie, the twins and the squad leader in charge of the mission were already present.

"Report," I ordered the squad leader.

"We were successful in our mission. We planted listening devices on the Jaffa that accompanied Kuro. First, they went to a known uninhabited planet. Then, they dialed Kuro's refuge; it is an address that is not in the Goa'uld database. Kuro returned a week later and we left the planet. We traveled to the nearest unoccupied planet with a stargate and returned through it."

"And the scout ship?" Eerie asked.

"I left three members of my squad to pilot it back here."

"What did you find out about the forces protecting Kuro's hidden world?"

"The planet is in an area of space that has few Stargates and years away from any Goa'uld territory. According to the data we gathered, the planet is well defended. There are eight motherships, over ten bombers orbiting the world and over seven thousand Jaffa protecting the planet..."

For the next hour, the squad leader presented her findings.

"That will be all for now, Ka'na," I told her when there was nothing more for her to say. "You and your squad have done well."

The squad leader bowed and left the chamber.

I turned my eyes to my commanders. "Since the planet is so far away, it would take us many decades to reach it by ship."

One of the reasons Goa'uld fight the way they do is for this very reason. Bastet, as a System Lord has over a hundred motherships under her control. However, there are only a few planets that are well protected by ships. Those are Bubastis - her capital, her lieutenants' main worlds and a few more worlds that are important for various reasons. The rest of her territory is either poorly defended by a few bombers or completely undefended by ships.

Most worlds are not important enough to warrant ships and some are too far away from her territory.

Most worlds are defended by a relatively small number of Jaffa, usually ruled by a minor Goa'uld or on occasion, by a Jaffa. Some worlds however, have no Jaffa presence despite the fact they are claimed by Bastet. Some of them haven't seen a Jaffa in decades and others are left relatively alone as long as they regularly pay a certain tribute.

Goa'uld will attack by ship, only planets that are close to their territory. Because of that, worlds that are far from a main world will be attacked only by Stargate. This means that battles on a large scale involving ships occur only between neighbors like Kuro and Bastet. Space battles between Goa'uld that are more than a year away are impractical.

If Kuro has eight motherships on that planet, this means he is theoretically invulnerable to attack for many years, since the attackers will have no ships. Not even the most bitter enemy will send a fleet to such a far, isolated planet.

And for the same reasons, this world will be perfect for me.

I do wonder how he got those ships on the other side of the galaxy though. He must have prepared that world as a safe planet to retreat for quite some time. All powerful Goa'uld create safe heavens for the eventuality they are defeated in battle and loosing their territory. Goa'uld will retreat to one of their heavens; when that happens. From there, they can begin to rebuild their forces. Unfortunately for Kuro, I have other plans.

"This is a great opportunity," I smile at my commanders. "We have the chance to not only conquer a planet whose isolation will increase our safety, but we can capture a large amount of resources and eight motherships. We must attack when Kuro himself is there; this will allow us to take over the planet without worrying about a counterattack. I believe I have a rough plan. There is another planet with a Stargate that is almost three months away by ship from Kuro's planet. We will disassemble some of our ships, and then send them through the Stargate and reassemble them over there."

"Eerie, this will be your job. After the ships are reassembled, they will be installed with stealth devices. You will take fifteen squads. Your task will be to capture the motherships and as many bombers as possible. And if they cannot be captured, then they must be destroyed. None of them can escape. You will also kill the Jaffa guarding the stargate and dial Eratna after Kuro arrives. After that, you are to provide support."

"Kyra, you will stay on Eratna. After Eerie dials us, you will take through the Stargate the bulk of our forces and attack Kuro's Jaffa."

"Zyr'na, Zar'na - you will be with me; our job will be to capture and kill Kuro."

"My lady," Eerie said. "We do not have enough cargo ships to transport fifteen squads. But one of the bombers would do."

"But we can't mount a stealth device on a bomber," Kyra protested. "They are too big."

Eerie nodded. "That is true, but that's not what I was thinking. We use two cargo ships and a bomber and have them exit hyperspace far away from the planet, preferably with the sun between them and Kuro's ships. After that, the stealth cargo ships will make a few trips to transport everyone from the bombers to the planet."

"Very good," I nodded. "I approve of your plan."

**-x-x-x-**

Six months later, after the bomber and the two stealth cargo ships were disassembled and sent through the Stargate and reassembled, Eerie and fifteen Jaffa squads left towards Kuro's hidden world.

Three months later, three ships dropped out of hyperspace behind the sun. Detecting no ships, Eerie, along with four other squads ringed from the bomber to the two cargoships and headed on the other side of the sun, to the planet Kuro would arrive in a few more months.

The two cargoships slipped through the defenses - eight motherships and sixteen bombers in high orbit over the planet; they headed towards a hilly area and landed in a forest clearing, one hundred kilometers away from the Stargate.

The Jaffa got out from the crowded ships and begun setting up a camp.

The ships took off. They would bring back the rest of the Jaffa and supplies.

For the next three months Eerie and the Jaffa under her command hid themselves, carefully scouting the enemy Jaffa encampments.

Finally, Kuro arrived.

Two days later, at midnight, the Jaffa were arrayed in front of Eerie. Six squads boarded the cargoships and were transported four kilometers away from the Stargate. The cargoships made two more runs, bringing all Jaffa.

One hundred eighty one Jaffa carefully surrounded the thirty Jaffa that guarded the Stargate and opened fire. It took less than three seconds for all the unwary defenders to die.

One of the Jaffa dialed Eratna and dashed through the Stargate.

Since there was only one ring platform on the planet, and that was inside the pyramid, Eerie had to find another way to get her girls to the motherships.

The two cargoships landed near the gate and eight of her squads boarded them and begun ringing to the motherships.

The Stargate activated and the Jaffa tensed. Two drones dashed through the stargate, followed by the first wave of Jaffa from Eratna. Eerie's Jaffa relaxed and she, together with six more teams boarded the cargo ships. Only one team remained to report to Kyra of the Intel they gathered in the last months.

**-x-x-x-**

On Eratna, a Jaffa came through the Stargate. There were twelve squads standing guard, with Ka'na in overall command. The newcomer informed her that the operation was beginning and she sent a com message to Kyra. She then dialed Kuro's refuge.

Ka'na's techs sent two drones through the gate. She nodded at her superior, confirming that on the other side of the gate were only their own forces and the bodies of enemy Jaffa.

"Jaffa, kree."

Ten of the twelve squads dashed through the Stargate. When they got to the other side, Ka'na nodded to Eerie, confirming she would take charge of securing the immediate area.

**-x-x-x-**

"My lady!" one of the twins knocked on my door.

I woke up quickly from my slumber. "Enter."

Zyr'na or Zar'na, (even I have trouble telling them apart,) entered and gave a small bow. "Eerie has begun her attack," she said simply. "Kyra is readying her squads and Zar'na your squads."

I nodded in satisfaction, got out of my giant soft bed and discarded my night robes. Zyr'na opened a closet and took out my suit. She handed me my undergarments, shirt and pants. Even if they were only clothes meant to be worn under the suit, they were not only comfortable, but also made of a highly resistant material that gave almost as much protection as Jaffa standard armor. Zyr'na helped me with my suit. I glanced at my gloved hands - which were fundamentally different from those worn by my Jaffa. Instead of the simple gloves that my Jaffa had, mine had a hand device incorporated.

"Let's go."

**-x-x-x-**

Eerie ringed to one of the motherships where two squads were waiting for her. She waited for all her squads to report that they boarded the motherships. She sighed in relief; only two of her squads encountered enemy Jaffa and they managed to kill them without attracting any notice from the defenders.

"This is Eerie. Phase one," she said over her com, "begin." Eerie and one of the squads headed towards the command bridge, sneaking around the Jaffa patrols. She stopped in a side corridor near the bridge and waited.

After seven squads reported in, she nodded at the squad leader. "This is Eerie. Attack," she said over the com.

Eerie and her squad went towards the command bridge and took defensive positions around the door. Two Jaffa opened the door, threw two grenades and took cover from the light. The Jaffa entered the room and shot the enemy Jaffa with their zat'ni'katel, disintegrating them.

The squad's tech disabled the doors and started working on the ship computers.

One by one, the other teams from the seven other motherships reported in. All but two of them took control of their targets without alerting the enemy Jaffa. "This is Eerie. Phase two, begin," she said over the com.

The six squads that remained in the ring rooms of the motherships begun ringing to the bombers.

"This is Eerie. Squad three and seven, report when they start trying to break through the door," she ordered the two teams that alerted their enemy of their presence.

For a long minute, the com was silent.

"Squad three reporting; they are trying to break through the door."

"This is Eerie. Squad three. Vent atmosphere," she ordered.

"The ships scanners picked up the decompression of the ship," she murmured. "With a bit of luck, the bomber pilots will not pay any attention to it." However, she would prepare for the worst.

Eerie begun receiving confirmation from the squads send to capture the bombers. Six of the sixteen bombers were captured. "This is Eerie. Bomber squads," she ordered, "ring to the next six ships."

"Squad seven reporting, Enemy Jaffa are trying to open the door."

"This is Eerie. Squad seven, vent atmosphere."

Another mothership lost its air.

"This is squad three. One of the bombers is asking what is happening."

"This is Eerie, acknowledged, squad three."

Eerie fell silent for a long moment. 'It is time to end this even if I loose the last four bombers,' she thought. "This is Eerie. Bomber squads. Expedite the capture of the bomber vessels. Ha'tak vessels. Target enemy bombers thirteen to sixteen." She paused for a few long seconds. "Fire." As one, eight motherships opened fire on four bombers, destroying them instantly.

Six of the twelve remaining bombers were already under her control and the remaining six would soon follow as her squads rushed to capture them.

Two of the six bombers that were still under enemy control begun to fly away from the motherships and another contacted one of the motherships to ask what was happening, but fell silent.

The bomber squads begun to report the capture of the bombers.

"This is Eerie," she said over the com after all ships were under her control. "All ships enter low orbit above the Jaffa encampment."

**-x-x-x-**

As soon as I arrived to Kuro's refuge we were met by Ka'na and her ten squads that took defensive positions around the gate.

On Eratna remained only two hundred Jaffa.

Zar'na and four of my squads boarded the cargoship; they will head towards the pyramid and ring inside.

Kyra, Zyr'na and I, leading forty-six teams - six led by Zyr'na and forty by Kyra, headed towards the pyramid.

We arrived at our destination (a kilometer away from the pyramid and the main Jaffa settlement,) to see the blasts of plasma fire from eight motherships, fall upon the Jaffa settlement where over five thousand Jaffa slept.

After two minutes of continuous fire, the motherships stopped their fire and bombers begun to fly around the pyramid and Jaffa settlement, opening fire at the remaining defenses. Kyra and her squads started advancing towards the pyramid and we followed.

Disorganized Jaffa tried to stop us, but were quickly mowed down by our fire.

When we arrived at the pyramid, Kyra blasted through the hastily organized defenders, scattering them with ease and her squads dug into defensive positions around the pyramid.

We advanced towards the entrance, but we were met by staff fire.

Plasma canons and rifles answered, making the defenders duck for cover. "Grenades," Zyr'na ordered. Immediately six grenades were thrown at the enemy defenders and we took cover. Three of them were thrown at groups of Jaffa, knocking them unconscious, one hit a rock, spending itself uselessly, but two were thrown in the pyramid entrance.

Our squads advanced quickly, killing the remaining defenders. The entrance to the pyramid was now clear and two squads took positions on each side of the entrance. They threw two more grenades inside, and four seconds later, drones darted into the pyramid.

"This is Zyr'na," she said over the com. "We are in position."

"This is Zar'na," came the reply. "Commencing attack."

Zyr'na moved inside, in front of four squads and I was followed by two more. Unlike the last time, when I conquered Eratna where the defenders were not very good, the Jaffa we faced now were much better trained. But the same applied to my own forces - they had almost two years of experience and intense training.

The forward squads advanced, overwhelming the defenders with superior plasma canons, rifles and the liberal use of grenades. Suddenly, we stopped.

"This is Zyr'na. We are about to break into the central chamber."

"This is Zar'na," came the reply. "Same here."

"This is Zyr'na, break the doors."

I went forward just in time to see the doors blown away by plasma canon fire and several grenades were thrown inside the chamber. After the chamber flashed, two drones went inside.

"There are at least seventy conscious Jaffa. About thirty Jaffa appear to be unconscious," the tech overseeing the drones said.

"This is Zyr'na. Make sure the enemies are not playing dead," Zyr'na ordered. "Attack."

Two more grenades were thrown through the door and after the flash of light was gone, Zyr'na and two squads rushed inside. Two more squads entered, but they were blown back by a shockwave from Kuro's hand device.

I activated by shield and moved inside to see the angry expression on Kuro's face. The twins and their squads had taken cover; they were firing on the Jaffa positions, ignoring the Goa'uld.

His eyes widened when a staff cannon blasts slammed into my shield. I could see his thoughts moving. He was a Goa'uld. As long as he had his hand device and his enemies were only Jaffa, he still had a chance to escape. But with me present, he had to disable or kill me first. As soon as he realized this, he launched another shockwave at me and I returned the attack. Fortunately, my hand device was much more powerful than normal ones. My shockwave overwhelmed his and it hit his shield. I pointed my hand at him and fired another shockwave. I walked towards him, firing a shockwave every two steps I took.

I could see his shield begin to crumble, so did his Jaffa, who started to fire at me, ignoring my Jaffa. Unlike other Goa'uld, who carry only one hand device, I have two and I can use them both at the same time. The staff blasts hit my shield; I ignored them in favor of firing another shockwave at Kuro. Two more times and his shield failed under the strain. I quickly drew my zat'ni'katel and fired at the disoriented Goa'uld, knocking him unconscious.

The enemy Jaffa, demoralized by the defeat of their lord, were then quickly defeated.

Zyr'na approached the Goa'uld and took off his hand device from his unconscious body.

**-x-x-x-**

The next day, Kyra, Eerie, the twins and Ka'na (who was tasked with protecting the stargate) came to brief me.

"We captured all eight motherships," Eerie begun. "And we captured twelve of the sixteen bombers. We searched through all of them, but found no living enemies. I estimate the ships had a crew of over three thousands. We have no casualties; only a few lightly injured. The motherships are undamaged. Five of the bombers suffered minor damage, two more have moderate damage and one of the bombers is heavily damaged."

"The pyramid is secure and Kuro is under heavy guard." Zyr'na said simply. "No casualties," she added.

"There have been several attempts to get to the Stargate," Ka'na said a little nervously, unaccustomed not only with my commanders' presence, but my own. "Thanks to Kyra who sent a few more squads after the battle, the Stargate area is well defended. No casualties."

"Kyra?"

"Most enemy Jaffa were killed by Eerie when she destroyed their camp. Our surprise attack killed almost seven thousand Jaffa on planet. At present, I doubt there are more than a few hundred disorganized enemy Jaffa on the planet. Our squads are hunting them down as we speak. It won't take more than a few days."

"Any casualties?"

Kyra nodded sadly. "Six; one of our squads was pinned down and overwhelmed. By the time reinforcements came to help them, most of them were too far gone for the healers to help. The rest of the squad got some serious injuries, but they will heal. Besides that, I had a few more minor to moderate wounds and a few serious injuries, but the healers took care of them."

I nodded at the reports. Six casualties was a surprisingly low number. Had this been a conventional Goa'uld battle, with my Jaffa equipped like their opponents, I would have needed a few thousand more Jaffa to win. Even then, the casualties would have been huge. However my better armor, suits, access to healers and fire support from the bombers and motherships made a huge difference. I'm beginning to feel tempted to abandon growing strong without attracting too much attention and begin a conquest campaign. I have Kuro. By Goa'uld tradition, his territory belongs to me.

'So why don't you?' Maya asked trying to play devil's advocate.

'You know why,' I answered. 'Even if I got Kuro, I doubt his lieutenants will submit to me.'

'Then you can kill them, it wouldn't be too hard - a few quick assassinations ...'

'Yes, I could, but then Bastet would see me as a rival.'

'Then you can kill her too. Then you could select a new System Lord and use the same tactics: capture his ships.'

'That's easier said than done. I could do this once, but only once. If I did that, sooner or later, the other System Lords would realize how I captured the ships. All it takes is for one ship to survive the battle and see that we vent atmosphere after we capture a mothership.'

'You could enter hyperspace and travel to a safe distance, so that there would be no enemy ships in scan range,' Maya pointed out.

'True, but sooner or later, they'll find out; one way or another. Even if our Jaffa are better equipped than enemy Goa'uld, after they see that our Jaffa are too strong, they'll change tactics. Most likely, they'll imitate me and when they have their Jaffa as powerful as our own, they'll crush me. Even if I somehow manage to conquer the System Lords, it won't be for long. Some of them will escape. They'll hide for a few centuries, like Kuro tried to. They'll grow strong in secret and then they will come back. No, I will continue on my path. I won't seek needless conquest or battles. I will not give the Goa'uld reasons to attack me and I will give them reasons to not attack me. Let them play their games. Let them squabble over territory. It is nothing to me. I will not seek to destroy or conquer them until I know I am strong enough to resist their combined might. That is centuries away.'

I glanced at my Jaffa and waved them off. "That is all."

Kyra, Eerie and Ka'na left, leaving the twins with me. Even if the battle was practically over, there was still the aftermath to be taken care of. Enemy Jaffa must be killed; their weapons and armor salvaged and their bodies, destroyed. The same thing Kuro did with Bastet's Jaffa when she attacked Eratna and the same thing I did when I conquered Eratna.

Besides what I salvaged from the Jaffa dead, I also captured Kuro's huge stockpiles.

**-x-x-x-**

Author's notes: This chapter is larger - 4000 words instead of my usual 3000 words; Hope you enjoyed it. Now, some quick notes.

The refinery was only assembled in two weeks. Lilith build the parts first; moved them and then, she assembled them in two weeks.

On the topic of shipyards, building new ships; that's still some chapters away.

On society. Lilith does have plans on how it will be organized. (And she'll get more next chapter.) We'll see more (probably) in the next chapter. For now ... the humans under her rule are very happy with their new ruler.

On new tech. Next chapter...

Also, next chapter a new character will be introduced. Probably, the most important besides Lilith/Maya.

_Thank you for reading and reviewing. _

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: March 18, 2009.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	9. Chapter 9 Daughter

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 9.**

**Daughter.**

**-x-x-x-**

The small eight years old girl dressed in white fur pelts took a deep breath under the pale Sun. She always enjoyed this time of the year. It was the middle of the summer and the cold sun allowed her people to get outside to hunt and gather supplies for the winter ahead. It was fortunate that the summer came earlier this year; her people would have enough time to hunt.

She was happy that she was still too young to take the mantle of the ruler of her people. She had few responsibilities while she was still a child, but soon, she would have to lead and she did not look forward to it. The girl could not delude herself. While she was young, she was surprisingly mature, even for her people. Her people's life was hard and she cringed at the choices she would be forced to make.

She was Erika, princess of her people after her mother died in childbirth. Her father died in a hunt, when she was four.

The girl smiled at a band of children arriving with small loads of wood. They needed it to survive the harsh winter, when leaving their home would be impossible. Until then, they would have to gather as much wood and hunt as many animals as they could. Their pelts would be used for heating, the meat would be preserved and the fat would be needed for the torches. Besides these, they would need to gather enough herbs and fruits to last them the year.

Sometimes the summer was too short. When that happened, the hunters would not have enough time to hunt. And the herbs and fruits would be too rare. Such a thing was disastrous. Erika was well aware that if they ate only meat, they got sick. But even worse if they didn't even have enough meat, her people would starve.

The world was harsh with her people. Sometimes there were periods with long summers when they had plenty of food, but sometimes, the summers were short. Erika could see the signs of the last great hunger that begun fifteen years before and lasted six years, on the older people. It was a terrible time when her mother had to make hard choices. Sometimes, when the food was short, the weak, sick and old had to die for her people to survive.

Erika turned around and entered the large pyramid that offered shelter to her people.

**-x-x-x-**

One of the hunters ran into the main chamber. "Jaffa and Goa'uld," the man gasped. "They're coming."

Everybody froze at the news. It was not a good one, it never was.

Erika wondered what they would want. "She did not know much about them, but she knew they were powerful and they always wanted something. Sometimes, it was food. Sometimes it was the beautiful white pelts they got from their hunts. Sometimes it was the ivory weapons her people made from the tusks and horns of the great grazers. And sometimes, it was slaves."

Soon, a Goa'uld surrounded by twenty Jaffa entered the main chamber and ordered for all the people to assemble.

When they were all gathered there, the Goa'uld begun to inspect her people, but he was disappointed every time. "Are all you people like this?" the Goa'uld asked.

An elder stepped forward. "My Lord?"

"The males are all scarred," the Goa'uld explained. "they have missing parts. And the women, even if they are young, they don't look like it."

Erika shook her head. "What did he expect?" she thought to herself. The world was dangerous and only the children were untouched by the harshness of the world. The adults all experienced the last hunger. All the old ones - those that survived past their thirtieth birthday had some sort of handicap: from missing fingers, ears or whole limbs, to the ravages produced by hunger and the scars they got while hunting.

The elder bowed. "The world is harsh."

"I must select someone, but there are none suitable." The Goa'uld continued surveying the crowd until he noticed Erika. He neared her and nodded. "Her!"

Two Jaffa stepped forward and grabbed the little girl and the hunters stiffened.

"My Lord," one of the elders protested. "You can't! She's our princess."

"Are you disobeying your god?"

Erika grimaced at what was about to happen. She doubted the Goa'uld were gods. After all, one of her ancestors killed one of them along with his Jaffa escort. The captured weapons were still hidden in a secret chamber known only to her and some of the elders. Also her people stopped believing in gods a long time ago. There was a time when her people practiced human sacrifice to appease the Gods that took the summer away. But in time, they realized that nature cared little for their wishes, prayers or sacrifices. They learned that the only way for the people to survive the winter was for them to be prepared for it. The problem was that even if the Goa'uld were not gods, they were still powerful. Even if they managed to defeat this particular Goa'uld, there were others. Her people had tried to revolt against them and they succeeded for a short while - until another Goa'uld came to punish them. She knew that the Goa'uld were like nature. There was no way to defeat it. If they tried to stand against the winter, they would die from cold and if they tried to stand against the Goa'uld, they would be killed even if she had the stash of hidden weapons and the weapons these Jaffa had. The Goa'uld are like the winter. They would make their victims, but then they will leave.

The hunters had their hands on their ivory weapons, ready to fight at a word from the girl or the elders.

"Stop," Erika shouted. She looked at the elder and shook her head slightly. The man nodded and the hunters relaxed their grip on their weapons.

**-x-x-x-**

Five years have passed since I captured and killed Kuro. After I sucked all the information I could find, I allowed him to die one last time. In a way, I wish I did not have to torture him. I would have preferred to simply kill him. I know that torture is not the best way to obtain information from a prisoner, and if I am honest to myself, it's not like the twins tortured him nonstop. The main reason I ordered them to do that was to break him. Kuro confirmed that there was no one else who knew about Refuge.

After Kuro failed to return to his capital, his lieutenants begun to fight among each other. Bastet took advantage of the situation and she conquered almost half of his territory in the last five years. It is only a matter of time until she gets the rest.

The resources from Refuge quickened my timetable by more than two decades. Thanks to them I managed to upgrade all my motherships to the more or less the same extent I upgraded Kuro's flagship. The bombers received a more powerful naqahdah generator and shields.

The biggest change I made was to the death gliders.

The standard Goa'uld doctrine for death gliders is that they are small, fast, inexpensive, low tech and easy to build. After all, whatever you do and no matter how much tech you put in it, a small fighter will always be fragile. Of course, my doctrine is quite different.

My new death gliders are basically the same as my personal one, with one exception; they lack the cloaking device. Normally, death gliders need fuel for their engine and their weapons are powered by liquid naqahdah, like any staff weapon. This means that normal death gliders have no way to power a shield, making them very fragile - with only a lucky staff weapon shot, it is destroyed. My upgraded gliders have a small naqahdah generator capable not only to provide superior speed, but also to power the shields. While the shield is weak - two shots from a mothership will collapse the shield, it also increases its life expectancy by two hundred percent. Its weapons are also more powerful and accurate; they are faster and have better maneuverability. The only "weakness" is that they cost ten times more than a normal death glider.

This means that in a fight against five normal death gliders, one of my upgraded fighters has a good chance of winning.

With this, I have a lot of confidence in my ships ability to survive a battle.

Besides upgrading my ships, I also took five thousand more Jaffa in the last five years. Thanks to the resources found on refuge, I was able to properly equip them.

With all these expenses, I exhausted a sizable chunk of my reserves. Fortunately, the humans continue to mine more resources.

**-x-x-x-**

One of the twins entered my chamber. "My Lady."

"Yes?" I answered.

"We received a message from Bubastis. There will be a Ceremony of Choosing in two days."

A Ceremony of Choosing happened once a few years. When that happened, Bastet gathered humans from her worlds to be selected by the Goa'uld under her service. They would become hosts or Lotar for them.

"I see. You and your sister will accompany me."

**-x-x-x-**

Two days later, I followed Bastet and her lieutenants with five more Goa'uld to the room where the humans were kept.

After we entered the cell, Bastet nodded at one of her lieutenants, signaling that she wouldn't choose. He walked amongst the humans and stopped in front of a young man. Two Jaffa stepped forwards and took hold of him.

Then, Marduk selected another young man.

Since I was the next strongest Goa'uld, I was next. There are not many Goa'uld who have three motherships and a planet rich in naqahdah under their control. Since I also delivered my tribute promptly, I am quite high on the social ladder. Of course had I revealed that I do not have only three motherships, but eleven, I would have become one of Bastet's lieutenants, third in strength. Alas, such show of power would not be to my advantage, so everyone thinks I am just a talented Goa'uld with a relatively well defended and rich world.

I was not really planning to select any human, but Maya had other thoughts and prompted me to step forward.

I walked toward a small girl and stopped in front of her.

She was young, seven or eight years old, with a paler skin than my own, gray eyes and pale blond hair. I glanced at the animal pelts she had on her and I realized she was from a very cold planet.

The girl looked at me with a cool, resigned look and I felt the push of Maya's maternal instincts.

'Choose her,' Maya said.

'Why?' I replied.

'She is young, but her eyes are filled with intelligence. She does not cower before us like the rest of the humans.'

'Is that all? Very well,' I sighed. I put my hands on the girl's shoulders. "Come with me, little one," I told the child.

The girl nodded and followed me back to the entrance of the room.

One after another, the rest of the Goa'uld selected a human.

When the selection was over, I nodded politely at Marduk and signaled the twins to keep an eye on the girl while I talked with my former Lord.

"So, how have you been doing in these last few years, Lilith?" he asked.

"Quite busy, My Lord," I replied.

"Ruling a planet is a bit harder than ruling a single mothership, is it not?"

"Indeed. What about you, my Lord. How is the war against Kuro going?"

"Quite well," he replied. "Since Kuro so conveniently disappeared, his lieutenants split his territory and squabbled among themselves more, instead of confronting us."

"I am surprised they didn't surrender," I shook my head. "It's not like they have a chance to win against Lady Bastet."

"Well, while Kuro was a wily adversary, his lieutenants were carefully selected for stupidity ..."

**-x-x-x-**

An hour later, I found myself with the girl and the twins in front of Janak's office.

'I think you should buy the other human slaves,' Maya suddenly said.

'Oh? Why?'

'For the same reasons you select only the most promising Jaffa. They have good genes.'

'It's not only because of that,' I answered. 'There are other reasons.'

'Yes, I know. But, isn't it fair to say that having good genes is the main one?'

'Yes. That is true,' I nodded.

'So, by adding only superior Jaffa specimens, you in fact perform a type of artificial selection.'

'Yes,' I nodded. 'The Goa'uld way is to send the Jaffa in battle after battle, killing the weak. Such a method alienates the Jaffa. So instead of killing the worst of my Jaffa, I add to my Jaffa population only promising girls. You could say I introduce new, strong blood. When the female Jaffa begin to reproduce, I am sure all of them will have a much higher potential than those from Bubastis.'

'I think we should do the same thing with the humans,' Maya said. 'After all, you said you want to advance them. Goa'uld buy and sell slaves all the time. What I am thinking is to buy the slaves from the Goa'uld Choosing Ceremonies. After all, these slaves are carefully selected by the Goa'uld who can practically smell the superior hosts.'

I nodded. 'Very well, I'll talk to Janak about it.'

**-x-x-x-**

After I arrived back to Eratna, I took the girl with me, wondering what I was going to do with her. Before I knew it, I was in front of my room. I opened the door, ushered the child inside and turned towards the twins. "Have Kyra take two squads and head to Bubastis. She is to go to Janak for the human slaves and bring them here. Have them settled in the human village. Also, bring some clothes for the girl."

The twins bowed and I entered my room, to see the girl playing with an invaluable gate builder artifact.

Amongst Kuro's stockpiles, I found a few artifacts made by the gate builders. This was not such a strange thing. After all, the Goa'uld technology is partly based on their tech. Many of their devices were found. From them, the Goa'uld managed to reverse engineer quite a few things. Unfortunately, most of these devices are a complete mystery.

The one the girl was playing with now is some sort of data pad, but I never managed to make it work, despite the fact it has a working power source.

"So, what is your name, little one," I asked the inattentive girl.

The girl jumped around and put the artifact back on my desk.

"I am Erika," she answered.

"Well, nice to meet you Erika; I am Lilith." I walked towards her but then, something attracted my attention on my desk. It was the artifact. It was functional. I picked it up and stared at it. For five years I searched for a way to make it work, but I always failed. "I am Lilith." I picked the artifact in my hand and studied it for a few long minutes. "I see you activated this," The data pad was working and displaying gate builder characters.

"Sorry," said the girl. "I just touched it and it did that by itself."

"I see; that's quite all right, Erika," I said kindly.

I began thinking about what just happened. 'This changes everything,' I thought. 'Maya, I'm glad you convinced me to take her.'

'Me too ... so, can I come out?'

I glanced at the child and gave Maya control over my body.

Maya smiled at the girl and took her hand. "I think you need a bath. Come with me." When she saw that the girl hesitated, Maya squeezed the girl's hand gently. "Don't worry. I promise you'll enjoy it."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's notes**: We saw that the ancient gene developed on Terra and a few other planets. SG1 had Jack, Atlantis had John. Apparently, this is a recent development on the evolutionary scale. The gene shows that their possessors are more advanced than normal humans. Erika lived on a harsh world where only the strong survived. Therefore, some of her people developed the Ancient gene earlier.

It is possible that there are other humans who have the gene ... but that's very rare and what Goa'uld would let an ancient artifact around a human? For Lilith on the other hand, it was only a matter of time until she had a human with the gene touch an ancient device, since she will have human scientists.

_Thank you for reading and reviewing. _

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published April 12, 2009.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	10. Chapter 10 Princess

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 10.**

**Princess.**

**-x-x-x-**

After I gave control over my body to Maya, she led the girl into the bathroom, filled the large bathtub with hot water and poured soap granules into it. Immediately, the water surface was covered by foam. Maya glanced at the girl who looked at the water as if it was poisoned.

'Remember that she comes from a cold planet. Immersing herself in water might seem unhealthy to her,' I observed.

Maya smiled at the young girl. "Don't worry little one. It's perfectly safe."

The girl nodded without enthusiasm, disrobed her heavy pelts and clothing, then she stepped into the bathtub calmly.

A minute later, Erica begun to relax in the hot water and Maya begun to shampoo her hair.

This girl can use gate builder tech, but how? Is it something only she can do? Can she do the same thing to other artifacts? Is it something genetic? Something her people can also do? Or was it only a coincidence that the artifact started to work when she touched it. Is this something only people from that world can do? Or maybe there are others, from other planets. If there are, it would be dangerous if other Goa'uld got their hands on such power. While there are many artifacts made by the Gate Builders, only a few of them had any impact on our tech level. Most of what we know is stolen from other species. Besides the Stargates, most of the ancient Gate Builder tech is unusable. We did manage to reverse engineer a few things from some artifacts, but it is clear that what we managed is quite primitive besides Gate Builder tech.

Now, thanks to this girl, I may have an advantage no other Goa'uld has. I will need researchers, techs and engineers to explore it.

Thanks to Maya's idea, I now have a good way to increase my population. I will buy human slaves, preferably, superior slaves from other Goa'uld. As she said, Goa'uld can practically smell the humans with superior traits, be they physical or mental. I will buy them and I will offer them a better life. They and their offspring will not toil with primitive tools just to feed themselves.

They will serve me and they will do it willingly, not as unwilling slaves, but as willing citizens. And the girl ... I was considering on making her my Lotar, but perhaps something else would suit her better.

The girl is an important asset, probably the most important one I have. Her talent may be common, or she might be the only one with the ability to make Gate Builder tech work.

"There," Maya said to Erika as she finished washing the girl's head. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"

Erika nodded and Maya dried her hair with a towel before she covered her with one of our bathrobes.

Perhaps I am fortunate for Maya's maternal instincts. It would be beneficial for the girl to form an emotional attachment toward us.

Maya took the girl into my bedroom where Zyr'na was waiting with a set of clothes for Erika.

Sooner or later, I will have to educate the humans. Erika looks like a smart girl. It might be advantageous for her to begin her education. "Zyr'na, I want you to find a few tutors for Erika."

"My Lady." The bodyguard bowed and left the room.

After the girl dressed into her new clothes, Maya showed her to her new room - a smaller bedroom connected to my own, usually used by the Lotar. "This is your room," my host said.

Erika nodded.

"Would you like to eat something?"

Erika nodded again and Maya offered her hand to the girl who took it hesitantly.

Goa'uld ruler and child walked hand in hand down the corridors. We encountered some Jaffa who bowed at me and glanced curiously at Erika. Most of them were perplexed at seeing their Lady - a Goa'uld, holding the hand of a child, but a few select others had a knowing look on their face.

After I conquered Refuge - Kuro's hidden world, I introduced Maya to Kyra, Eerie and the twins. Since I was sure of their loyalty, the risk was worth taking.

One of the main reasons I did this was because I made them more and more aware of Goa'uld technology, history, intelligence reports and Goa'uld in general. Letting them think I was like the other Goa'uld - who take unwilling hosts, suppressing or torturing their minds into submission would have been much too damaging. When I choose my Jaffa, I looked for mental and physical qualities, but I also searched for those who do not follow blindly.

Sooner or later, they will all know the truth about Maya. I was of course not foolish to just blurt this out to all my Jaffa and humans. That would be too dangerous. Instead, I told my four commanders, who told this to a few other trustworthy high ranking Jaffa and squad leaders who informed other loyal Jaffa. By this time, all my original first one hundred Jaffa know the truth, along with a few hundred more.

It was of course a risky thing to do, but the risk would have been higher had I not done so.

I could not take the chance of one of them thinking I am evil because I take unwilling hosts. The chance of betrayal, despite me being different than the typical Goa'uld would be too great. There is also the chance of one of them being an agent of the Tok'ra, or being recruited by them.

I know that the Tok'ra interfere in Goa'uld business. They sabotage and pit one System Lord against another, never letting one single Goa'uld rule over the others. If they find out that a Goa'uld educates her Jaffa ... I do not know how they will react. But if they think I am a Tok'ra, they will not attack. They might even try to protect me.

The chance of my Jaffa defecting to the Tok'ra disappears if they know the truth about me. And if I do have a Tok'ra agent among them, they may defect to me or the Tok'ra might approach me to join them. I will of course refuse them, but an alliance with them might be beneficial.

Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages to my decision as well, but they pale in front of the advantages. If a Goa'uld thinks I am a Tok'ra, I will be attacked. But I will also be attacked, or at least investigated, if they only know my Jaffa know too much about the Goa'uld technology. There may even be an advantage to them thinking I am a Tok'ra. The Tok'ra have one of the best intelligence sources, so they might discover if a Goa'uld was going to attack me. If they think I am a Tok'ra, they might warn me.

**-x-x-x-**

Two weeks later, Erika returned from her lessons with her tutors. Everyday, she was taken by one of her tutors in the morning, and she returned a few hours later.

When she returned to my chambers, I smiled at the silent girl. "Did you enjoy your day?"

Erika nodded. "It was interesting."

"Come here," I said. When she approached me at my desk, I gave her another Gate Builder artifact, similar to the one she activated. "Here, hold this for a second."

As soon as Erika's hand touched the artifact, it activated.

I took the artifact back, and glanced at it. The display was filled by strange writing. I must find a way to decipher their language if I am to make full use of them.

The girl looked from me, to my hand, and to the artifacts she just activated. She took a deep breath and exhaled, as if she was preparing herself for something. She looked straight into my eyes. "Why?" she asked.

"Why what?"

"Why am I here? Why are you so nice to me? Why were those Jaffa teaching me? What is this thing?" she looked at the activated artifact. "And what do you want from me?"

'Maya?' I asked my host. 'What do you think I should say? We can not afford alienating her.'

'I do not know,' she answered. 'She is just a child. How can we explain all this to her?'

'Perhaps I should just tell her everything. She is a smart girl.'

"Very well, Erika." I patted the chair besides my own. "Sit and I will explain."

I tapped a few keys at the computer console and a mature symbiote appeared. "This is a Goa'uld. To live it needs a host - a human. It enters a body and wraps around the backbone. Then, it takes control of the host."

"What happens to the host?"

"The host's mind is suppressed and the Goa'uld takes full control of mind and body."

"I see," Erika's voice trembled slightly. "So you are the Goa'uld?"

I nodded. "Normally, the host is fully suppressed, but my host - Maya and I came to an agreement and we share the body. You met her that first day, after we entered this room."

"The first day, after I entered the room," Erika repeated. "You started to behave differently. You, she was ... kinder. Sometimes you are more aloof, sometimes you are kinder, friendlier."

"Yes. You must keep this secret. The vast majority of the Goa'uld are not very nice and if they find out that I share my body with Maya, they will try to harm us. The twins, Kyra and Eerie already know about this, and so do some of my Jaffa forces, but the others are not yet aware of this. As to why I am teaching you things, the Goa'uld forbid teaching humans because knowledge is power and they do not want power in the hands of other races. They only want slaves, but I want my people to have more than that."

"And I? Why are you so interested in me? Does it have anything to do with that?" she looked at the Gate Builder artifact.

I fell silent for a few long moments. Should I tell her the truth, lie or not answer? It only took a glance at Erika's determined face to decide. She may be a child, but she is strong. "Yes. It is a artifact made by an ancient and powerful race, far stronger than the Goa'uld. No Goa'uld has ever managed to activate an inactive artifact, but you did."

"So this is why you are so nice to me?"

"Partially," I answered. "Had you lacked this ability, perhaps I wouldn't have taken such an interest in you."

Erika's face betrayed little more besides the slight tightening of her eyes. So hard to read she is, but in the past weeks, she started to relax around me. But now ... is she afraid I only want her as my tool? While she is highly intelligent, she is still a child. We had a few conversations about her past. She was, like me, the ruler of her people. Such a position is filled with loneliness. She had no family or friends, only teachers and servants. She was kidnapped by the Goa'uld, taken by me and given a new home.

"But I must admit, Maya has grown quite fond of you."

" ... And you?" she asked.

"There is a lot of feedback between Maya and I. What one of us feels, the other feels to a great extent. I too care a great deal about you, little one."

For the first time, Erika's calm appearance broke. Her lower lip begun to tremble and her eyes watered. "Promise?" she whispered.

'How cute,' Maya and I thought at the same time. 'Damn you, Maya, and your maternal instincts.'

I pulled Erika into a hug. "I promise," I whispered into her ear. The girl cried silent tears into my chest as I petted her hair.

'Maya, am I evil?' I asked my host.

'Why would you say that?'

'Because even as I hug a crying girl, a part of me can't help pointing out with glee that this has just assured me of her loyalty.'

'Don't worry, that's just another part of you, of us. Remember what you told me. We are what we are. Even if that part thinks, plots and calculates for the future, that does not lessen the other parts. The part that hugs a crying child ... our ... daughter.'

**-x-x-x-**

A month later, Erika came back to her old home accompanied by four squads of Jaffa.

She glanced at the Jaffa commander - Zyr'na, who nodded at one of the squad leaders. One of the squads took defensive positions around the gate. The remaining three squads headed towards the pyramid - her people's home and sanctuary.

When they reached it, another squad pealed off before entering.

Erika, Zyr'na and the two remaining squads were greeted by a hunter who showed them the main chamber where only the elders were waiting for them.

Erika was dressed in a similar suit to the rest of the Jaffa. It was actually a high quality one, almost on par with a commander's suits. When her helmet withdrew, the elders gasped at the revealed face.

"Princess!"

"Elders. We have some things to talk," Erika said, and then she looked at Zyr'na. "Please wait outside."

The bodyguard stared at the elders for a few long seconds before returning her eyes to her charge. She gave a small bow. "Yes princess."

Erika watched the Jaffa leave the room with a small smile. It was Lilith that called her "princess" for the first time. When the commanders heard her called like that, they used it as well as did the rest of the Jaffa. Now, she was always called "princess" or "Princess Erika".

"Princess," one of the elders said. "We thought ... we are glad you came home."

"Thank you, elders, but I will not stay long. I want our people to come with me, to another world. It is a beautiful world with long warm summers, rich hunting grounds, trees with fruits and edible plants ..."

**-x-x-x-**

It took over two hours for Erika to convince the elders to come with her, but in the end, she did and they begun to evacuate to Refuge.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: So, how was this? Especially the "promise" part. Too much/not enough drama?

On the topic of romance and pairings. I very much doubt there will be any for various reasons. I might have a spin-off into Stargate Atlantis ... and there might be some romance there, but that's still a long time from where we are and I haven't decided on what exactly will happen in that time ... though I do have some ideas.

A little more on why does she have female Jaffa. Females are a blank slate, they can be trained into a new, better mindset. Male Jaffa are trained/set into the Jaffa strong/charge/honor/fearless (aka what is self preservation?) mindset. After the new way of thinking is deeply ingrained into the female Jaffa, there will be male fighters.

More on how will she gather more humans in the next few chapters.

As to Lilith producing things and selling them ... will happen (or begin to,) in the next few chapters as well.

On casualties in combat and reviving them ... I'll say more on that later.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing. **_

Published May 20, 2009.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	11. Chapter 11 Gene

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 11.**

**Gene.**

**-x-x-x-**

A month after Erika's people were transported to Refuge, I traveled along with Erika and the twins there.

Ka'na, who was newly appointed as governor, was waiting for us when we arrived and she accompanied us to the human settlement.

In the center of the village, there was the newest large Goa'uld pyramid where the humans would live until their village was build.

Around the pyramid, there were already a few completed houses, constructed by my Jaffa and the new humans. They were not the typical primitive hovels, but somewhat civilized buildings.

One thing that I insisted was for my people to have fresh water and plumbing. I have no intention of allowing plagues caused by unsanitary living conditions to occur.

These were not my ideal preferences on living conditions, but it was far better than the humans' current technology and civilization level allowed. Introducing too high a tech level would not only be of no purpose, but it would also be an ineffectual use of my resources.

In a few months, the human settlement would be finished. The bulk of the work would be done by the humans and a few dozen Jaffa. The construction materials were built on Eratna, and then they were transported to Refuge. The work was simplified for the humans by the use of work suits. The workers ability to easily lift a few times their weight was highly useful.

I glanced at Erika - who was watching her people with a fond smile. While this was my first time seeing her people, she came here to visit them once a week. I put my hand on her shoulder. "It looks like they adapted well to their new home."

The girl nodded and leaned into me. "Yes, mother."

I could not help myself but feel a small burst of happiness at her words. It was just a few weeks ago that she asked me if she could call me "mother". Both Maya and I were more than happy with that for reasons both personal and pragmatic.

It is a little strange that I enjoy having a daughter when other Goa'uld do not care for their children. It is the terrible fate of our kind's young to rarely take a host. Usually, they are simply killed off. I shivered a little at the thought of the other thing that happens with them - sometimes they are eaten. Only rarely are they allowed to take a host. In this way, our numbers do not grow.

It is highly unlikely that I will procreate. I am a Goa'uld. It is unlikely I will ever become a queen. They are extremely rare and it takes centuries to become one. Even if I were to become one, I am uneasy at the thought of an offspring. I am unsure of what an offspring of mine would become. The main difference between me and the Goa'uld is that I lack the emotions our racial memories have. Whether this is a fluke that applies only to me or my descendents as well, I do not know. Of course, if I were a Goa'uld queen, I could do the same thing Egeria did to the Tok'ra: she erased most of the Goa'uld ancestral memories. The Tok'ra are the children of (or compared to) the Goa'uld in more than one way.

Even if I were to have the ability to give birth to the third Goa'uld strain, I would not do it. At least not now, when my territory is still week, small and undeveloped. The problem is that the Goa'uld are dangerous, cunning and ambitious.

Even the Tok'ra are similar to us in this way. To me they are cowards and fools. I do not comprehend what went through Egeria's mind when she rebelled. She should have done what I am doing: building an empire, using both humans and Jaffa as full citizens. Instead, she got herself killed along with the future of the Tok'ra. However, despite their low numbers, lack of resources and territory, they are still dangerous.

Having Goa'uld among my people would be too much of a risk. Even if they are my offspring, I can not take the chance of one of them becoming too ambitious and seeing me as an obstacle to their ascension to power. After all, a Goa'uld is still a Goa'uld. Perhaps in the future, when my empire is stable and powerful.

Still, it is unlikely I will become a queen. Not having any Goa'uld in my command structure will hurt me for the foreseeable future. In only a decade, the Goa'uld can have a highly intelligent army of millions of Goa'uld if they wish. Now, the number of Goa'uld is in the tens of thousands. As long as the System Lords are stable, this will continue, our numbers will not grow and the System Lords will remain content in their power games. But, if our species were to become endangered, we might turn into what we once were in our youth.

There was a time when we did not have Jaffa to protect us, fight for us and provide incubators for our young. There was a time when we did not have humans to serve as perfect hosts. There was a time when we had no more technology than the other races we encountered. There was a time when Goa'uld fought as soldiers, not only as commanders. There was a time when our numbers kept increasing despite the fact that less than a quarter of our young survived when they tried to take control of a host. There was a time when the Goa'uld empire was expanding.

Now, the Goa'uld settled into a comfortable way of life. They are stagnating. Whatever I do, I must not tickle the sleeping monster. I have no intention of allowing the Goa'uld, as they now are, of waking up from their slumber. I can only shudder at the thought of all the Goa'uld incubated by the Jaffa in millions of humans. Such a thing would destabilize the current galactic situation. Such high numbers of Goa'uld would lead to far more fighting or infighting. We would be forced to wake up from our slumber. There would be millions of Goa'uld. Such high numbers would lead to an increase in the number of lower-class Goa'uld. It might even trigger a golden age. Even the mighty Asgard would be in danger.

**-x-x-x-**

After we finished with our tour, we convened in a briefing chamber.

After meeting with Erika's people, I understood more about her. They were unlike most humans. The harsh life they had on their former world molded their thinking into something different than the human norm. I now understand where Erika's special brand of pragmatism came from.

I took a seat at the head of the table and Erika took the one to my right. After the twins and Ka'na sat down, Ka'na begun her report. "As you know, the human settlement construction is on schedule. Our healers took care of most of their injuries. However, their previous environment was quite harsh. Sixty of those who had more extensive medical problems were put in the two sarcophaguses to heal the more extensive problems. Unfortunately, not even a sarcophagus can heal parts of the body that were lost more than a few days before. Still, even those who have a missing appendage are now far healthier than they were. The new humans' numbers are over three thousands and over a third of them will need to use the sarcophagus. Currently, only six percent of those who had to use the sarcophagus did. We have also finished the genetic investigation you asked for."

I gave Ka'na a few Gate Builder artifacts to test the humans with. My hope was to see if some of them could replicate Erika's ability. "And did you find anything?" I asked.

"Yes, my Lady. We took genetic samples from the humans when our healers checked them out. We found a gene that is common only in those who have the ability to activate the artifacts. This gene is present in seventeen percent of the princess's people..."

**-x-x-x-**

A month later, on Eratna.

I looked at the files I had on my population. I have six thousand Jaffa, fifteen hundred of them on Refuge. That number was lower three months ago, but with the Erika's people on Refuge I had to sent five hundred more, most of them healers and engineers.

As for humans, I have over five thousand on Eratna and over three thousand on Refuge.

From now on, I will need more and more engineers and scientists. Until now, I bypassed this need with the humans by using only simple tools that need little understanding of Goa'uld tech or science in general.

By now, the humans' life is much better. They have plenty of food and their children do not need to work to ensure their survival.

On other worlds, all humans have to work (a lot if they are under Goa'uld control); even the children must do their share. Most of the males do the more dangerous or physical work, females do the more domestic work, like producing most of the food and raising children and the children begin to help them as soon as they are able to.

I made a few changes with my humans. The males work fewer hours, so they have time to work for their own families. They can use their work suits for the more physical work. I also introduced a few minor advancements. It's a wonder what you can do with a simple irrigation system, an introduction to more advanced agriculture methods and a few good bows and crossbows for hunting. All their tools are now made from better alloys - lighter and far more durable than anything they could produce with their primitive methods.

The result is a society that can take care of their basic needs with a fraction of their total population. This means that their children are not needed to help them in providing food, thus they are free to do something else, like learning the Goa'uld language, math and sciences.

It is time to build schools.

The door to my quarters opened and Erika entered looking a little tired. If I remember correctly, she had training with Zar'na. I thought it prudent for her to know how to defend herself, so she now receives regular training from one of the twins.

After she took a bath, she sat on my bed. I took a brush and began to run it through her hair. Such a bright girl she is. She absorbs knowledge like a sponge. From what I understand, such high intelligence is not uncommon with her people, though she is bright even for them. I believe that this is due to the Gate Builder gene. From Ka'na's observations of Erika's people, those who have the gene are not only smarter, but they also have superior physical traits. Such high intelligence is common among her people, but among more mundane humans, like those I have here on Eratna they are quite rare.

"So, how was your day, princess?" I asked.

**-x-x-x-**

It is time for me to take the next step.

I need more workers. I need more scientists. I need more resources. I need more Gate Builder artifacts and data on them. I need to increase my defenses over Eratna. I need to begin scouting the region of space around Refuge.

There is one thing I can do to help with three of my problems. The Tau'ri was abandoned by the Goa'uld. There must be hundreds of millions of humans on that one planet. I can get workers from there and the large population would assure me of a large number of highly intelligent humans. And since there is a connection between humans and the Gate Builders, there might be some help with my artifact problem there.

Even if I could take enough humans from the Tau'ri, that doesn't mean I can't buy human slaves from the other Goa'uld. It could also prove the easiest way to gain Gate Builder artifacts. In exchange, I can provide them with things like small weapons, Jaffa armor, death gliders, other pieces of Goa'uld technology and naqahdah. I could even sell the more expensive Goa'uld artifacts: healing and hand devices or even sarcophaguses. These artifacts are an advanced piece of technology. From these three, the healing device is the easiest to make. The hand devices are far harder to build and expensive. The sarcophagus is by far the most expensive. It requires high amounts of rare, precious resources.

Next, I need more resources. I will have to expand my resource extraction facilities to other sites on Eratna. The current one is not the only one, only the richest. The rest are not as rich as the current one or were abandoned because humans could no longer mine them effectively.

Strip-mining them using heavy machinery would be the most effective choice. I'll just carve out and process them in automated refineries.

I'll need some heavy machinery simple enough to be operated by uneducated humans. And I'll need bigger refineries.

I'll also need to increase my defenses, especially here on Eratna.

I opened a file with a weapon satellite design and sighed. Unfortunately it will have to wait until my resource production increases.

I closed the file and opened another. The hologram of a small fighter - a Dagger, appeared. It was seven meters long with a height of two meters and a width of four and a half meters - small enough to pass through a stargate. It was not as well armed as one of my death gliders nor was it as fast, but it had almost the same shields and it had a cloaking device.

I opened another file and another hologram appeared. This was an Explorer - long and circular, three times bigger than the Dagger, but still capable of passing through a stargate. It was ten meters long with a height and width of four and a half meters. It had no weapons, it was slower than the fighter, but it had better shields and had a cloaking device. This ship would serve primarily as a transporter ship for a Jaffa squad or as an explorer on new planets.

The Explorers could be accompanied by Daggers to provide fire support if in hostile environment.

**-x-x-x-**

At the next meeting with my commanders, I decided to send a ship to Tau'ri.

"Kyra, I want you to find an abandoned planet close to the Tau'ri. After you do," I turned to Eerie, "I want you to supervise the construction of a cargoship." I gave her a data crystal. "The ship is larger than the typical cargoship. That is because it must be big enough to take the stargate from that planet and travel to Tau'ri. After it arrives there, the ship will be cloaked in case there is some sort of surveillance over the planet. Though abandoned by the Goa'uld, the planet is still in Ra's territory and I do not wish to enter in a conflict with him. The ship is to find a protected, hidden place to install the Stargate. Since I do not want anyone to find out that there is an active stargate there, the stargate will be installed with an iris that will prevent the formation of an event horizon. It will have the same effect as having the gate buried. The iris will be kept closed to prevent anyone else from dialing in, except on a preset time. This will reduce greatly the chance of anyone else finding out that there is an active gate there."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note**: Not much happened in this chapter, but it was information needed for the next few chapters.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing. **_

**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**

Published: June 18, 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	12. Chapter 12 Plans

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 12.**

**Plans.**

**-x-x-x-**

I watched the second mining operation with pride. It was different from the first mine - Mine 1. Instead of the small, simple tools used there, here they were replaced with heavy machinery. It took eight months for the second mine to become operational, but it was finally done.

There were huge drills, excavators and earthmovers that tore loose the soil and raw ore.

Unlike the small carts used in Mine 1, in Mine 2, big cargo haulers were used instead. Basically they were nothing more than huge, glorified containers fitted with a naqahdah generator, a heavy engine and a small cockpit attached to the big container. The raw ore was placed in the cargo haulers by the heavy machinery, and then they were transported to the refinery for processing.

The cargo haulers were simple, slow and easy to maneuver - perfect for their human pilots that had little knowledge of technology.

The automated refinery was bigger than the first one, to accommodate the huge influx of raw ore.

With this new mining facility, I can now set my sights to new goals. It's time to expand a little.

"My Lady," one of the twins interrupted my musings.

"Yes?"

"We have word from the ship we sent to the Tau'ri."

"Excellent," I smiled. "Call the others for a meeting in two hours. And have Ka'na attend."

"Yes, my Lady."

**-x-x-x-**

I nodded at my commanders who were already in the briefing room. I sat at the head of the table and smiled at them. Besides the twins, Kyra and Eerie, there were two more attendees. The first one was Ka'na, who had impressed me with her previous work and was about to get a promotion. The second was my daughter, Erika, who sat next to me.

There are many reasons for her presence. First is that in an event of my death, she is my heir. I know it is strange for a Goa'uld to even consider events after death ... besides revenge, that is, but I am not like them. Even if I am to die, my legacy will live on.

The twins, Kyra, Eerie are my friends and family now. Maya is my other half, and Erika is my beloved daughter. I will do almost anything to ensure their safety and happiness.

There are of course other reasons for Erika's presence. One day, she will be one of my commanders, probably in the research department. This could be a great learning experience for her. Also, it would be wise to have a human as one of those who rule my people. Having Erika acknowledged as part of my inner circle will make Erika's people in particular and humans in general, very loyal. Keeping their loyalty, especially of those who posses the Gate Builder Gene is very important. Due to their superior mental and physical abilities, they are as important as my Jaffa ... perhaps even more.

"I believe we all saw the report from the Tau'ri," I said. At their nods, I looked at Ka'na. "How is the human settlement on Refuge?"

"Quite well, my Lady. The human settlement is mostly complete. They have plenty of food, they are healthy and they love their new home. The school was recently expanded." At my questioning look, Ka'na explained. "It looks like the princess's people love to learn. Much of the human adult population decided to attend and learn in special classes."

"That's a very good thing," I said. "Since your presence supervising the construction of the human settlement is no longer needed, I have a new job for you. You are now in charge of exploration. There are three main things that are needed to be done." The hologram of a small ship appeared above the table. "This is an unmanned probe. Thanks to our new mining facility, we now have resources for more than the absolutely necessary. Part of these resources will be put in the construction of these unmanned probes. They are small enough to travel through a Stargate, but they are also hyper-capable. There are two versions of this probe. The first one, is the active probe and has powerful active sensors. The second version, is the stealth probe. It has stealth capability and very good passive sensors. I want both models deployed together when exploring. If something happens with the active probe, the stealth probe will be able to record what happened and warn us. I want the area around Refuge, explored. I want you to search for naqahdah or other resources."

"Next, all known gate addresses need to be explored. The primary mission is to find Gate Builder artifacts. However, I want it done in secret. Use only stealth probes. The Daggers and Explorers have cloaking devices. Use them. Revealing ourselves is only to be done after careful consideration."

"Exploring is easier if you don't have to hide yourself," Ka'na said.

"I know," I said, "but remaining hidden is important. At the moment, we cannot afford to antagonize any System Lord."

At Ka'na's nod of understanding, I continued. "Your final and most important task has to do with the Tau'ri. A hidden, protected base must be constructed. For now, I want you to observe the planet and its system. While officially the Goa'uld retreated from the planet, it is possible that not all of them left."

"I understand," Ka'na replied. "May I ask what is our interest in the planet?"

"There are multiple reasons," I answered. "It is said that long before the rise of the Goa'uld there were four powerful Great Races. They were the Asgard, two more races that have since disappeared and the Gate Builders. Some of our technology comes from the Gate Builders directly, or indirectly via some of the races the Goa'uld conquered. Some Goa'uld thought that there is some sort of connection between humans and the Gate Builders."

"Thanks to Erika," I said glancing at the girl, "this connection has been confirmed. We now know that the Tau'ri may hold some answers to their technology. We currently have quite a bit of trouble in deciphering their alphabet. There is the chance that we will find something that will help us with this problem. Any understanding in Gate Builder technology and language would help us immensely."

After a short pause, I continued, "The other reason for my interest is the humans themselves. Even after the Goa'uld abandoned the planet, there were still some Goa'uld that visited the planet for human slaves. One such expedition was little over a thousand years ago. I believe that even at that time there were over 100 million humans. Such a huge population is a significant resource."

"Are we talking about their partial or full relocation?" Kyra asked, frowning.

"No," I answered. I do intend to transport some humans to Refuge, but not in the way you may think. After the genetic studies on Erika's people, we discovered something strange. It appears that the Gate Builder Gene is some sort of spontaneous mutation. Looks like some humans evolved towards this specific point. There are cases where the parents don't have the gene, but some of their descendents, have it."

Everybody frowned in confusion at my words.

"I do not understand, my Lady," Kyra said. "I thought that there was a common ancestor who had the gene and passed it down. Evolution doesn't work this way."

"That is true," I nodded. "But we are talking about the Gate Builders here. It looks like they somehow managed to program the human genome into evolving towards a specific path - their own. They somehow managed to ensure that at least some humans evolved differently; that somehow, some humans will become some sort of primitive Gate Builder. We are going to find some of these people and offer them the choice of joining us."

"With such a huge population, we could expand far faster," Kyra said. "Would it not be more practical to just conquer the whole planet?"

"In one way, yes it would," I admitted, "but it would be too risky. First, there is the risk of discovery. We will avoid a war with the Goa'uld until we are able to defeat their combined might. Besides that, we would have an even bigger problem. The Tau'ri have their own languages, culture, religion, rulers and political system. It would be impossible to ensure effective control over them. Taking over such a huge population could lead to our destruction. If we did, sooner or later one or more of the human leaders would decide that they are the perfect choice for the ruler of the galaxy. No," I shook my head, "moving too fast, increasing our population drastically while we are still vulnerable will only lead to our destruction."

I waited for their nods before continuing. "We will use the same strategy we use when recruiting Jaffa." The hologram of a mechanic flying insect appeared above the table. "This is a Mosquito," I explained. "They are very small and stealthy. We can use them in large numbers to collect genetic samples from humans."

"If the human population is so large, this could be difficult," Eerie said.

"Not really," I replied. "A few decades or even a century, is nothing to us. You must learn to think long term."

"Perhaps we should," Eerie said, "but we are not immortal, my Lady. A century is more than half the life of a Jaffa."

"For now."

"My Lady? I do not understand."

"I have no intention of allowing my people to live such a short life," I explained. Glancing at their faces, I continued, "Especially you."

Besides the obvious emotional loss, there is another reason I want them to have a longer lifespan. Goa'uld and Asgard live for thousands of years. In this time, they accumulate huge amounts of experience and knowledge. My people having a short lifespan would be a significant disadvantage. I must find a way of extending their life.

I could tell that the commanders were pleased by my words. Erika slipped her hand into my own and I gave the small hand a gentle squeeze.

Clearing my throat, I continued. "For now, that is all on the subject of exploration. Kyra."

"My Lady?"

"I have two jobs for you. First, you will organize a new training facility on Refuge. This one will not be for Jaffa, but for the humans. Second, I want you to find an abandoned planet that isn't in a Goa'uld's territory. I want you to supervise the building of a pyramid. This will be our first trading post. I want it well defended. For that, you will have priority on our defense satellites."

The hologram of the satellite appeared. It was in the rough shape of a trilateral pyramid. Its size was small enough to pass through a Stargate. Individually, the satellite was not much. While it had decent shields and strong weapons, it lacked the speed and maneuverability of a death glider. Also, due to its lack of a pilot, their effectiveness was lowered. However, the weapon satellites were designed to work together. Thanks to their simple design and relative low cost, they could be built in high numbers.

It would take thousands of them to even pose a threat to a Ha'tak, but their mission would not be to defeat an invading force. They could only defend against a small force or delay a strong fleet, but that was enough.

"Any questions?" I asked.

**-x-x-x-**

After I arrived back at my living quarters along with Erika, I sat down at my desk to continue working while she begun to do her homework.

As I said at the meeting, the Goa'uld and the Asgard are practically immortal. Jaffa could hope to live over two hundred years, but humans rarely lived to reach one hundred.

With the use of a sarcophagus, a human could live up to a millennium and a Jaffa, double that. Unfortunately, such a heavy usage would also mean addiction.

I must find other ways to do this. Besides the obvious advantage of longevity, I cannot afford having my Jaffa serve as incubators for Goa'uld. Sooner or later, one of them will manage to possess one of my humans. I cannot allow such a thing to happen. It would be better for my Jaffa to have another way, a safe way of providing long life and health.

One possibility of helping would be to perfect the sarcophagus.

Another, would be to implant a Goa'uld symbiote. I could perhaps, clone myself. But even if I could safely do it, Jaffa, unlike humans, can not be full hosts to a Goa'uld.

I could also use nanotechnology, but I have to develop the technology first.

Finally, I can use the Goa'uld genome as a template. Instead of a symbiote that would take control of the host, I could engineer a blank, single cell symbiote that could only heal and repair the host.

Soon, I will have many competent researchers to work on these problems. It may take decades, but in the end I will find the solution.

Two hours later, I was interrupted from my work by Erika.

"Are you hungry, Princess?" I asked. At her nod, I stood up. "Me too."

**-x-x-x-**

**One year later, Bubastis.**

"So, Marduk ... how goes the war?" I asked.

"It's almost over," Marduk answered.

"Oh?"

"Yes. Lady Bastet recently killed one of Kuro's Lieutenants. One other surrendered. Currently, there's only one of them left. In another year at most, this will be finished."

"That is good news," I said. "This war was far too brutal for my taste. We need to recover from our losses and take advantage of the new resources before one of the System Lords thinks to attack us."

"That's easier said than done. I did manage to capture three of Kuro's Ha'taks, but I also lost two and damaged three more. I've lost almost half of my death gliders, three quarters of my bombers and thousands of Jaffa."

"Perhaps I can help you," I said, hiding my pleasure. "I have a contact. There is an unaligned Goa'uld I trade with. I believe they have some significant stockpiles of equipment. At the very least they could help you with your death glider problem."

"Really?" he asked in interest.

"Yes," I nodded. "I've traded with them for a few years. They are a little secretive, but they always honor their deals. Also, they are quite flexible in the method of payment. They accept naqahdah, other raw resources, information, artifacts, (especially Gate Builder). They also buy luxury humans slaves."

"Is this why you bought those humans?" he asked.

"Yes, it was for them. And they don't buy just any kind of human. They are after quality, not quantity and they pay a lot for it."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: Some clarifications:

In the TV show, it was hinted by the Asgard that they were waiting for a sufficiently advanced human to evolve. They were not searching for the descended of an Ancient ... if they were, they would have found him or her a long time before. No, they were waiting for an advanced human to evolve. I can only assume that the ancients found a way to program the human genome into evolving towards a specific path and the Asgard knew ... or suspected it. After all, they were the Ancients. There isn't much they can't do.

The iris Lilith build was not a normal one. Instead of being three micrometers away from the event horizon, it is inside of it. The result is the same as burying the Stargate.

Many asked when this is happening. The answer is sometimes around **1700-1800 AD**.

One thing ... This is Lilith and her Empire centric. We will see some SG1 ... but only in how it relates to Lilith or the overall galactic situation. You won't read about SG1'ns missions ... unless they meet with an Eratan. I already have some interesting scenes planned about this: A young Teal'c going to an Eratan Trade World and his impression of it. A briefing about "Lilith the Goa'uld" by Daniel Jackson and Teal'c and of course, the obligatory first meeting between SG1 and the "evil snakehead and her minions."

Again, this chapter was more of a development chapter. I'll try to squeeze a war as soon as possible. Lilith is very careful, but Murphy will ruin some of her plans.

Next chapter will probably center around Earth.

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing.**

Published: July 23, 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	13. Chapter 13 Lesson

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 13.**

**Lesson.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1754, Eratan trade world.**

Twelve Jaffa and thirty humans came through the Trade World's Stargate.

Over forty black armored guards were around the Stargate area. They did not make any aggressive movement, so the visitors relaxed slightly.

Taruk, the leader of the newcomer Jaffa force realized that all the guards were female. A part of him was dismissive of the female warriors, who, by nature of their weaker gender were obviously not fit to fight. Still, the armor they wore looked far deadlier than even the Jaffa armor elite troops wore.

A trio of guards began to walk towards him. Noticing the easy steps they took, Taruk could only surmise that not only was the dark armor far more comfortable and easy to move in than Jaffa armor, but that it also weighed less. In the end, he cared little what the females wore. He was here for another reason than fashion. When his master heard of this new trade world, he sent him here to sell the humans and see what he could buy with them. He was also given some weapons grade naqahdah to trade if the price was worth it.

"You are here to trade?" the lead guard asked.

"Yes."

"Very well. Before continuing toward the trade post, I must inform you of the rules that must be obeyed while here. You may keep your weapons, but you are not to use them unless you are attacked. Even if you meet enemy Jaffa, as long as you are on this world, there will be no bloodshed."

"I understand," Taruk said stiffly.

"Very well. I presume you are here to sell the humans."

"Yes."

"Then it will take three days to process them. In that time, you will be given free lodgings and food. You are free to visit our market area or interact with other visitors. However, some areas are not free to visit. Entering these areas is forbidden. If you have any questions while you are here, you need only ask one of our guards."

"Very well."

"And one last thing," the guard said, offering the visitors a slim folder. "This is our brochure. It has all the products we sell or buy, their value and other information."

Taruk took the strange papers and nodded in understanding.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Actually yes, I do. Why do we have to wait for three days for the humans?"

"Three days is our quarantine length."

"Quarantine?" the Jaffa repeated.

"Yes. Some humans may be ill. Since unlike Jaffa, they are susceptible to all kinds of illnesses, it is necessary to perform some tests to check their health before sending them to their destinations. Also it will take us some time to evaluate their worth."

"I see."

**-x-x-x-**

After they arrived at the trade post, the humans were collected and ushered through a guarded door.

Three days later, Taruk was looking at the sheets of paper given to him by the same guard that met him at the Stargate.

The price he got for the slaves was higher than he expected. It was enough to buy staff weapons and basic armor for fifteen Jaffa plus a few zat'ni'katels. But something was wrong about the way the slaves were valued at. Some of the slaves were bought at the same standard price other Goa'uld have. Others, were somewhat cheaper. The Jaffa didn't find this strange. It was something else.

"I do not understand these values," Taruk said. "This one," he pointed to one of the pages of the file in front of him, "and this one," he pointed at another, "is almost half the value of the whole group."

"Well, of course," the guard said. "Both of them are impressive specimens, fit even to serve as a host."

"So is this one," the Jaffa pointed at another page. "I do not understand why her price is so low compared to those two."

"Well, it is quite simple," the guard said. "In our first case, we have a pair; mates. They are both highly intelligent, healthy, not only physically fit, but athletic as well and esthetically pleasing. While both of them were unwillingly taken from their world, leaving behind family and friends, they had no children or dependants that would suffer from their absence. They are mentally stable and suffered no great abuse. This makes them a good acquisition."

"I see," the Jaffa said doubtfully. "And the other case?"

"Ah, yes... her. She is quite intelligent and beautiful. Normally she would have been quite a catch. Unfortunately, there are a few problems. She is ill, and has suffered from mental and physical abuse. She was forced to leave family behind her, exacerbating her mental trauma."

The Jaffa shook his head. "I do not understand why her mental state would matter. She's just a human slave."

"Even slaves need a certain standard of living and a degree of happiness. If they lack it, they will not work as hard."

"She's a slave." The Jaffa repeated.

"Do you not clean and care for your equipment regularly?"

"Of course."

"Then, is it not wise to extend the same care and concern to a slave? A slave, even one as beautiful as her will do little good if she chooses to end her life or looses her will to live. The happier they are, the more productive they can be. The more unhappy they are, the more rebellious they can become, and the more problems they create. It is far more efficient to keep them content."

After the guard finished her business with the visiting Jaffa, she opened her own copy to the file. It was of course not the complete file, only what they showed to the ones that sold the slaves.

Any Goa'uld would think that what happened when the humans were in quarantine was nothing different from a human farmer looking over cattle before buying them.

In truth, after the humans were out of sight, they were thoroughly tested and scanned by both hidden scanners as well as visible ones.

They were given intelligence, physical and psychological tests. They were permanently under surveillance; friendly Jaffa would talk with them and try to ferret out their life story. Not only were these "interrogators" (as Lady Lilith called them,) well trained in picking up lies, misinformation or obfuscation, but unseen by the humans, scanners and recording devices were always recording and analyzing everything that happened. While not exactly possible to pick up all spies, it reduced the risk significantly. There were few people that could lie successfully to a truth detector that could annualize the way their eyes moved, their pulse, respiration, facial expressions, heart rate and even their brainwave patterns. It was certainly far more efficient than what the Goa'uld would do if checking for a spy. It was also far less painful and bloody.

The humans would only see nice, understanding faces. Spies may see more, but the probability of their lying their way through even the simplest interrogation was slim.

Even after the Humans were sent to Refuge, they would still be checked for quite a while.

It was never possible to ensure that you have no spies, but you could reduce the risk.

However, there were many other reasons for what they did.

Giving incentives for certain types of humans assured that the Goa'uld would sell only their best humans. Giving a higher price for those who didn't have a mate or siblings left behind on some Goa'uld world, decreased the number of people that would want to go back for their families. Instead, the Goa'uld would learn that it is better to sell the whole family. This would make the humans far more content and it would lessen the risk of them flying off to rescue family and draw attention to themselves.

**-x-x-x-**

**1755, Refuge.**

_Erika, the twins and I entered one of the many classrooms that taught the human children from Refuge._

_Unlike my Jaffa force, where those who were taught to be trustworthy were told the truth about Maya, the humans know only that as Goa'uld go, I am somewhat on the benevolent side._

_Such a behavior from a Goa'uld is rare, but not unheard of. Some Goa'uld, like Lord Yu, treat their human slaves and Jaffa far better than the rest of the Goa'uld. But even the more feared Goa'uld, like Sokar know to reward their people on occasion. Most Goa'uld find useful for their human slaves and Jaffa to feel a healthy dose of fear of their "gods". While many take this to extremes, it is not a rule. Usually, the humans that do heavy labor, like mining naqahdah live a harder life. Many of those who do this labor-intensive work are actually brought to these mines from other worlds. Some of them are just ordinary slaves, but others were given this work as punishment. Others, on other worlds have a somewhat better life._

_Generally, most Jaffa and human slaves live the same type of life they would have lived in a feudal society with a level of technology similar to the one they are allowed to know._

_While there have been many civilizations that had a far better standard of living, there were far more that were far worse that than even the worst Goa'uld achieved. They rarely touched this negative extreme, but at the same time, they never touched the positive one._

_I will be different._

_As I begun to do with my Jaffa, telling them the truth about myself, I will have to do the same thing with the humans._

_Eratna is only one of my three worlds. If I was ever to be attacked or investigated, it would be there. I doubt things would go well if the System Lords found out the degree of technology the humans and Jaffa are allowed to handle. I would be severely punished, but I would probably keep my life as long as they didn't know about my relationship with Maya._

_Telling the truth to my most trusted Jaffa is already a high enough risk. Telling the same things to the rest of the Jaffa and the humans that lived on Eratna is too much of one. In a few more decades or even earlier, I would have to do it, but at that point, even if the truth was to be revealed to the Goa'uld, it would not be a crippling blow._

_Unlike Eratna, Refuge is far more secure. No Goa'uld knows of its existence and even if they knew, it is too far away to attack. Only relatively trusted Jaffa are stationed on the hidden world and there is little risk of interaction between the humans and the Goa'uld. Coupled with the need I have for their loyalty and the increased influx of humans I expect to have in the next years, practically forced me to tell the truth to the humans._

_Mindless obedient drones can be somewhat effective, but for their full potential to be achieved, I will need for them to think for themselves. I want them to choose to serve me of their own free will, and for this to happen, they must understand and trust me. I must cement my position as their rightful ruler, not as another System Lord that sees in them nothing more than their small value in naqahdah._

_They must understand the Goa'uld and they must understand the difference between them and I; the difference between blind slaves that do as they are told and the educated, highly intelligent people they will be._

'Not that I am complaining,' Maya said, 'but why start with these children?'

'What kind of cunning Goa'uld would I be if I didn't start with the young and impressionable,' I answered. 'What I say today, they will never forget.'

'I see. And will you do the same thing to with all humans, all Jaffa? Our population is quite low, so this may work for now, but when their numbers increase...'

'You are right,' I answered in agreement. 'But I will not do this with everyone, even now when their numbers are small. I will do it mostly by proxy, the same way my Jaffa are informed. It is far better and effective to have others do this in my stead. Running around and teaching "Introduction to the Goa'uld and how is Lilith so much better than those System Lord and Tok'ra guys," is beneath me.'

'And yet, here you are,' Maya laughed.

'I must give them a starting point. Had I came out and told them that I am a nice Goa'uld, they would have taken it with a grain of salt. But now, their children will come home, telling the adults what "Lady Lilith" said. The children will believe what they're told for now and the adults will try to find out more. They will ask my Jaffa and they will learn of how I behave in comparison to other Goa'uld. Now, let us talk with the little ones.'

"So, children," I said with a smile. "I understand that some are curious about the Goa'uld."

The wide eyed fourteen year olds nodded shyly.

"Very well," I said. I took a seat on a chair offered by the Jaffa teacher and begun to talk. "A long, long time ago, on a planet now long forgotten, the Goa'uld evolved." Taking control over the classroom computer, I showed a hologram of a Goa'uld to my young audience. They gasped at the snakelike creature and I continued after a short pause. "At a first glance, the main difference between humans and Goa'uld would be their appearance. However, there are other differences. For one, Goa'uld have a type of genetic memory. What one of the Goa'uld ancestor experienced, its descendents can remember as well. The Goa'uld queen can choose to share with her children from no memory at all, leaving them as only empty shells, to a full transfer of the genetic memory. Usually, the queens rarely choose to do a full transfer and suppress some memories. In only twelve years, the Goa'uld larvae mature and are ready to take a host."

A second hologram appeared. "These are the Unas. The first Goa'uld hosts. As you can tell from their ferocious appearance, they are far stronger than a human, but less agile. Also, their intelligence is lower than a human's."

Now, it is time to scare them a little, I thought. "To take a host, a Goa'uld enters through the soft tissue, usually in the back of the body. They wrap around the spinal column and take control of the host's body and suppress the mind." The children shifted uneasily in their seats. "Only if the host is too strong or the Goa'uld weak or injured, can the host be able to reassert a vestige of control."

"In time, the first Goa'uld found the Stargate. Using random dialing combination they found their way to other worlds, and from there, to others. They encountered other species and civilizations. If the Goa'uld were able to use them as hosts, their subjugation did not take long."

"In this way, the Goa'uld took the technology of their defeated enemies as their own."

"For a long time, this continued. The Goa'uld found more and more races. Sometimes they were primitive, sometimes they were advanced, and sometimes they could serve as hosts. Civilization after civilization fell to the Goa'uld, but some of them were too strong. So the Goa'uld made peace with them and left them alone. In time, the Goa'uld came back to some of these worlds and conquered them using new technologies, trickery or plain old brute force."

"The Goa'uld controlled space expanded. But even as they expanded, they also died out. For every Goa'uld larvae, only half lived to reach maturity and another half died along with the host when they tried to take control over it. The Goa'uld also risked their life when changing hosts, though the older and stronger they were, the smaller the chance of failure was."

"It is with the discovery of the Tau'ri that things took a turn for the Goa'uld. Ra, searching for a better host found the human homeworld. Unlike all previous species, the human and Goa'uld physiology matched almost perfectly. Now, the risk of changing hosts lessened considerably. Later, with the creation of the Jaffa, virtually every Goa'uld larvae that was matured in the pouch of a Jaffa was able to take a host and survive. Also, with the development of the sarcophagus in the centuries that followed, the lifetime of a Goa'uld could be preserved almost indefinitely, grievous wounds beyond the Goa'uld symbiote and even death could be healed overnight. Unfortunately, this technology has a terrible cost. If overused, the sarcophagus will become addictive. The result of this addiction is paranoia, extreme overconfidence even when it is not warranted, delusions of grandeur and more."

"The discovery of the Tau'ri turned Ra into the most powerful System Lord. For a long time, humans were taken from the Tau'ri and transplanted to many Goa'uld controlled worlds."

"Ra controlled the Tau'ri until the humans rebelled. Fortunately for them, after his defeat, Ra abandoned the world and never returned. However, this rebellion made the Goa'uld wary of their slaves. Afraid of another uprising, Ra and the rest of the System Lords outlawed scientific knowledge - most humans were forbidden to know reading, writing or anything but the most primitive technology."

"Two millennia ago, one Goa'uld bitterly opposed Ra. She wanted the Goa'uld to stop taking unwilling hosts. She was Egeria and she became the Tok'ra queen. Along with a few other likeminded Goa'uld, they established an equal relationship with their hosts, choosing to share the body and not dominate an unwilling host. She rebelled against Ra and the rest of the Goa'uld. Obviously, she failed and was killed. But before she died, Egeria managed to spawn thousands of larvae. Since then, The Tok'ra have been fighting the Goa'uld through covert means."

I stopped and looked at the children expectantly. "Any questions?"

"Are you a Tok'ra?" one of the braver children asked.

"No," I said simply.

"Then you're a Goa'uld?" another asked.

Maya laughed in the back of my mind. 'I think there was an unspoken "evil" before that "Goa'uld".'

"If you are asking if I take unwilling hosts," I said, "then I am afraid I will have to say yes. I am quite young for a Goa'uld. I had no choice in the choosing of my first host, nor did she have much of a choice in becoming one."

'Now, my better half,' I told my host, 'it is time to introduce yourself to the kiddies.' I allowed myself to slip back and let Maya take charge.

"However," Maya continued with her normal voice, "we have both achieved a mutual understanding. We are both content to share the same body."

"You're the host?" the children asked.

"Yes, I am Maya," she said with a smile.

A girl opened her mouth to ask a question, but froze and ducked her head when Maya looked at her. She was one of the humans bought on the trade world.

"What is it, little one?" Maya asked gently.

"Does it hurt?" the girl asked.

"At first, when I became Lilith's host, yes; it was very painful. Fortunately, Lilith put me to sleep immediately. Even if she hadn't, the pain experienced by the host when the Goa'uld symbiote connects with its nervous system passes quickly. Generally, if I am hurt, Lilith can heal me quickly. She can also dull the pain of an injury."

"What about the ... other Goa'uld? Their hosts ... do they hurt?"

"Sometimes," Maya answered truthfully. "Most Goa'uld simply put their hosts to sleep. Others ... can inflict pain to their hosts, but they are the minority. Usually the host is forced into a deep sleep."

The girl nodded and the class fell silent for a few moments before the next question came. "Aren't you bored when ... you know?"

"No," Maya answered. "Ever since I became a host, I've never been alone. Now, I could never imagine my life without her. It is comforting to always be by her side..."

More and more question poured from the children; Maya and Erika answered all with a smile.

By the end of the hour, I was sure that if I pulled out a symbiote and told them that it was a nice Goa'uld or a Tok'ra, half of them would have jumped to the chance of becoming a host.

_After so many years with Maya, I can't even contemplate the barren life the Goa'uld have. While at first we had only a grudging understanding, in time it changed into friendship and more. Two halves of the same soul. The humans would call it soul mates. _

_The Tok'ra would call it blending. I know little of how they take hosts, but I know that Egeria instilled the instinct to blend with their hosts. This is opposite from the Goa'uld instinct to dominate and posses their hosts. Such a very small thing. Were the Goa'uld born with such an instinct, the galaxy would be a far better place._

_Perhaps the Goa'uld as a race can still be saved. Even if the Tok'ra have no queen, there is still a chance for their subspecies. And while the Goa'uld are unlikely to change, maybe some of their children can be more than parasites._

_In a few centuries, maybe even I will spawn a new generation; a new subspecies. _

_Perhaps a little genetic manipulation will do the Goa'uld some good. If I had a Tok'ra to study, I may be able to find the changes Egeria made in her children. If I could instill the same instinct to blend and if I could erase some of the worse genetic memories Goa'uld have or replicate my emotional detachment from genetic memories, it could result in a decent being. It could be even possible to attach a few fragments of memories from the Tok'ra. Happy memories they have, for and of their hosts._

'Even the Goa'uld need a little love,' Maya laughed.

'Yes,' I answered. 'There is friendship and love (both platonic and romantic) among the Goa'uld. But every Goa'uld is always aware of what those friends can do. That Goa'uld mates, children and siblings can turn on each other. That no matter how fond you are of them, if they stand to gain from your death, they'll probably do it.'

'Having a host you can trust absolutely can be a wonderful gift.'

_The Goa'uld as they now are, must go. If other Goa'uld, reasonable ones, rose to power, the Galaxy would be stable and safer. Foolish Egeria. If only she had waited until there was a back-up queen. She could have given birth to a Tok'ra civilization. One of millions of Tok'ra, humans and Jaffa. Not even the combined might of the System Lords could have stopped them if only they had a few centuries to _

_develop. It was foolish of her to fight with only her convictions and beliefs._

_The Tok'ra can be annoying, but they do not deserve extinction. Perhaps one day I'll be able to nudge them in that direction. But even if I can't, I will do what they could have done._

'And you'll do it better,' Maya said.

'Yes, better, and as the ruler. One day, I will see the System Lords defeated and replaced by something better. '

'Oh? You want to rule the Galaxy?'

'Of course not,' I answered. 'It would be foolish to do that even if I could. If I rule, then I must also defend and protect. If there is one thing history teaches, it is that there will always be someone stronger. No, it is better to let others dominate and defend the Galaxy. I will be content with my own little corner for the foreseeable future.'

'So,' Maya replied, 'let others be the targets?'

'Indeed.'

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's note**: There I was half way through chapter 13, writing the Earth chapter when I realized I kind of needed to write these scenes. Chapter 14 is half done, so ... hopefully I'll post it faster than usual. Next chapter will be the final chapter of the first arc (of the three arcs I planned) of the story.

Again, not much happened. Sorry to those who want battles. (There will be more action in arc two - almost half of arc two's 14 chapters have one major fight/battle.)

In chapter fifteen, we'll meet the first bitter enemy. Some of you already guessed it. It's the most underutilized bad guys and the ones that in my opinion are the "most evil" bad guys in the show. They are ... um ... will be "Lilith's mistake".

Lilith won't get over them as easy as SG1 did. One of the things that... irritate me to a certain degree in the show is the Uber-weapons or the Uber-lucky thing SG1 did to save the day.

Next chapter I'll also post the OC list (since a few of you asked for it).

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing.**

-voider-

Published: September 2, 2009.


	14. Chapter 14 Tau'ri

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 14.**

**Tau'ri.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1758, Eratna.**

Erika skipped into my bedroom. "Morning, mother," she said.

"Good morning, little one," I replied with a fond smile. "How was your training?"

"Oh, it was great," she beamed. "Look what Kyra and the twins gave me." Proudly, she drew a knife. "Isn't it great?"

"Yes," I lied.

I was not too pleased by the dangerous weapon for it was as different from a normal knife as one of my new death gliders was different from a standard Goa'uld model. It was made from an alloy similar to the one I used as armor for the suits. It was all but impossible to break it or dull its edge. But this was not what made it so dangerous. It was its sharpness. While the edge of the blade was not a monomolecular blade, it was the next best thing. It was fortunate that my soldiers are not foolish male Jaffa. Had they been, the accidental injuries would have been far greater. Fortunately, most injuries provoked by careless use were easily healed.

'Perhaps our beloved first prime needs a solo mission," Maya grumbled in the back of my mind. 'Something like collecting those Stargates by herself.'

Erika stopped smiling. "You think they shouldn't have given me the knife?" she asked.

Kyra's birthday gift was more than a nice weapon. It was also a symbol. By receiving it, Erika was now considered of age. No longer a child, but a young adult.

"Of course not, little one," I quickly replied. "It is only a mother's apprehension. I just want you to be careful."

Erika glanced at her knife and nodded somberly. She sheathed it and looked at me earnestly. "I will," she promised.

"Good," I nodded. "Here, this is for you," I said, handing her a black box.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Erika did so and gasped. "This is a personal shield!"

"Yes. And you are not allowed to dismantle it."

"Oh," Erika sighed.

I gave her a second box. "You can play around with these," I said.

Erika opened the second box and squealed. She jumped into my arms and gave me a long hug. "This is the best gift ever. Thank you, mother."

"You are welcomed my princess. But I have to warn you that the devices in the second box are broken."

"It's okay. I'll fix them."

"Mother," Erika said a minute later. "Isn't it dangerous for me to wear a Goa'uld device?"

"Not really," I answered. "I have no intention of allowing you anywhere near any Goa'uld for the foreseeable future. If a Goa'uld is close enough to you to realize you have a shield, we'd have bigger problems. However, if we ever find ourselves in this kind of situation, you will be considered my Lotar. It is not out of character for a a Goa'uld to go to extreme lengths to protect her Lotar." Tightening my arms around my daughter, I continued, "Even If this were to lead to war with the System Lords, I would still have you well protected. In any case, soon this will not matter. The time when the Goa'uld will not be so critical for our survival approaches."

**-x-x-x-**

**1759, Tau'ri, Europe, London.**

Elise and her "husband George" walked down the streets of one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of London. She could not help but sigh in relief on her new mission - to buy books. It appeared that one of the Tau'ri languages - Latin, had some similarities with the language of the Gate Builders. It was not similar enough to directly translate the Gate Builder language, but it was enough to give a jumpstart. Once the translator program that was used to decipher the Gate Builder language had some basic data, it could begin to decipher more and more of the language.

She couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty when performing her main duty. There were too many orphaned children. Even if she wanted to take them all to Refuge, it was impossible. There were too many humans and the Tau'ri was not the only world where children suffered. Every time she entered one of the orphanages and saw the grimy, starved faces of the children, she knew that many of them would not live to reach adulthood. The child mortality rate was high even among those who were part of the middle class, but for the very poor, it was even worse.

She knew that there was little she could do for most of these unlucky ones, but some of them would have a better future. Even if in the end it was self interest that made her Lady give some of these children the chance to a new life, it was still better than nothing.

Still, if she truly wanted, she could empty an entire orphanage. She could send them all to Refuge. No one would deny her, not even her Lady. But if she were to do that, she would most likely be sent to Refuge as one of their caretakers.

'I could do that, but what would it solve?' she asked herself. We aren't gods to fix everything nor are we a charity. In the end, her job was important. The children sent to Refuge would have a good, long life as productive Eratan subjects. True, it was selfish for Eratna to save them only out of self interest, but she was somehow more comfortable with Lady Lilith "doing good out of self-interest," than doing good for absolutely no reason.

She was one of those who had the honor of attending one of the Lady's rare lectures and she had also watched all of her recorded lectures.

Elise heard and read stories of the destruction the Goa'uld did. At first she was skeptical of a Goa'uld taking good care of her princess and people, but hearing her Lady's views changed her mind.

The universe was huge. No matter how strong you were, there would always be someone stronger.

Every civilization is expansionist or isolationist. They can be benevolent or malevolent. They have a certain level of aggression, they can be reasonable or not, and so on.

If you encounter a warlike xenophobic race, usually it doesn't matter how "good" or "evil" you are, but if you encounter a civilization that is not malevolent and you can reason with, then what you are matters a lot. If you are "evil" and you have the habit of starting wars with other civilizations, then you might get attacked on principle. On the other hand, if you are a "good" or "neutral" civilization, it is far more likely that a certain level of trade and cooperation will begin.

Taking the Milky Way Galaxy as a practical example, what would happen if a new, powerful civilization were to appear?

If the civilization is aggressive and expansionist, their main target would be their rivals - the Goa'uld.

On the other hand, if the civilization isn't expansionist, then they might only defend themselves or attack only the ones that would most likely attack them - the Goa'uld.

If the newcomers are somewhat benevolent, then they might attack the Goa'uld or help the enemies of the System Lords.

In most cases, the Goa'uld would be the ones that would enter a conflict with the new race.

The Asgard on the other hand, are a strong, benevolent race. They rarely engage in combat and they are reasonable and honorable. Only an unreasonable civilization would seek battle with the Asgard.

Logically, an aggressive malevolent civilization like the Goa'uld is doomed to destruction. Sooner or later, they will meet someone too strong for them. When that happens, they will be destroyed not only by the outside enemies but by Tok'ra infiltrators, rebel Jaffa and human revolts.

Knowing that her Lady had logical reasons for being "good" somehow made her feel better. The System Lords chose to be parasites - to serve themselves by subjugating others; to take, but rarely give. Her Lady chose symbiosis - to serve herself by serving others; to take, but also give. She expected to be served and obeyed, but in return she did so many things for her new people. Unlike the System Lords, she was a worthy mistress.

Six years ago, she couldn't have even imagined the life she now had.

She was thirteen when the Goa'uld came to her world and took her princes away. Miraculously, she came back and took her people to a new world, a new home. From that point, her life took a strange turn. Back on her frozen home world, staying alive was a constant struggle, but on warm Refuge, food, shelter and warmth required little effort. This was probably the reason her people loved the schools opened by Lady Lilith so much. As their minds and bodies were no longer constantly preoccupied with staying alive, people found out that they had too much free time on their hands.

When she found out that the Jaffa would train her people, (both male and female,) in the art of war, she immediately volunteered. After five years of intensive training, she received her first mission. Along with hundreds others, she was to infiltrate the Tau'ri.

Together with her teammates, they were playing the part of merchants. This was the best method of infiltration. Traders were expected to buy and sell all sorts of things - from food, metal, weapons, books and artifacts to slaves. They were expected to move from place to place with this cargo.

Thanks to Eratna's industrial capacity, they could produce goods for trade, gain income, and with the income, buy human slaves or hire them. Since they were traders, they were expected to move far away. It was also not strange for their subordinates to come with them. This way, they could uproot small populations from Tau'ri to Refuge without suspicion. No one would suspect that they were taken off planet.

**-x-x-x-**

In the middle of the London night, a small form crept towards a moderately wealthy house. The burglar had patiently spent his last two weeks studying the comings and goings of those who lived in it. Now, it was time to earn his bread.

Confident that his targets were hard asleep, but still wary, the boy approached the back wall of the building. Checking his surroundings one more time for any sign of life, the boy begun to slowly climb up the brick wall, using the spaces between the bricks as handholds.

When he reached the small, opened window to the first floor, the boy stopped to ease out his breath. Then, he squeezed his thin body through the small window and dropped to the hallway floor without making a sound.

**-x-x-x-**

Elise was woken by the insistent beep of the intruder alarm. Throwing only a robe over herself and grabbing a zat'ni'katel, she rushed towards the laboratory.

When she got to the basement door, she saw that the door was opened. She had no idea how the complicated mechanical lock was bypassed, nor did she care at this particular moment. She would worry about it later, when the intruder was neutralized.

Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her, she activated her zat'ni'katel. Fortunately, it was not another intruder, but two of her teammates.

Thankful for the backup, Elise and her two companions went through the basement door and into the small hallway that followed.

They stopped for a few seconds in front of the simple laboratory door that had yet to be replaced with the high-security one. Then, they rushed inside, ready to fight the intruders.

Instead of the enemy they were expecting to find, they only saw the frozen form of a child in front of the main computer, staring at the holographic display.

The intruder started to turn around at the sound of footsteps behind him, to see a woman and two men. He took only a glance at the zat'ni'katel in Elise's hands, and after only a moment of thought, he threw his backpack at the newcomers, not caring for the loss of his loot.

Elise dodged the feeble attack, but her teammate behind her was not as fast. He stumbled back as the hastily thrown weight slammed into his chest.

Now unburdened by the heavy weight of the loot, the boy dashed towards freedom, but just as he was about to reach the door, an arc of lightning slam into his back, and he fell unconscious.

"So, what are we going to do with the child?" the man who fell down, asked.

Elise suppressed a groan, trying not to think of what the question brought to her mind.

It was expected that at least some of the teams sent to the Tau'ri would have to fight off the natives. In this case, they were to be cautious with their energy weapons if surrounded by uninvolved natives. In extreme situations or if there were no innocent bystanders, they were allowed to slaughter their aggressors.

Even if there were witnesses, as long as their number was small enough, they could be stunned and dosed with a drug that would erase their short term memories. If there were too many, a high-dispersal, airborne drug could be used.

In both cases, most of the witnesses would never remember what they saw, and those few who would, would never remember more than a few distorted memories.

Had the intruder been different, she would have used the drug on him and dumped him into a dark alley.

The boy however ... she was curious.

Perhaps a few tests are in order, she thought.

**-x-x-x-**

Elise entered the small interrogation room with one of her teammates. He took a empty bowl of food and left without a word. Elise took a seat on the chair and looked at the boy who was sitting on the other side of the table.

Unfortunately, the boy did not possess the ancient gene, but his genetic profile showed that he was genetically predisposed towards high intelligence.

"Hello, my name is Elise. What's your name?"

"They call me Ghost," the boy said.

Elise raised an eyebrow. "Ghost?"

"Yeah, cause I'm the greatest thief in London..." The boy snapped his mouth shut and jumped to his feat. "Why did I tell you that? I never... what did you do to me?"

"It's all right," Elise said gently. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm only going to ask you some questions, then you can go. Sit down, please."

The boy nodded and warily sat down.

"Now, did you pick this house by yourself?"

The boy shook his head.

"Then who..."

Twenty minutes later, Elise knew not only who sent the boy, but also every member of the man's organization and detailed information on them."

"Thank you, Ghost." Elise said.

"Can I go now?" the boy asked.

"Where do you want to go?"

"To my si... home."

"Is anyone expecting you?"

"A... N... no!"

"Why do you steal?"

"I need the money."

"For what?"

"Food, shelter, warm clothes, medicine..."

"Medicine? For who?"

"..."

"It's ok, you can tell me. I won't harm you or your friend. I promise. You can tell me."

"It's for my sister. She's sick. I have to go back to her. She needs me. You told me I can go back."

"You will. In the morning you can go. I promise."

**-x-x-x-**

A few hours later, Elise entered the interrogation room.

"Good morning, Ghost."

The boy said nothing.

"You can go... if you want."

"If I want?"

"Yes. You don't have to leave. You can stay with us."

"You want me to steal for you," the boy stated.

"No, we employ talented people like you. We teach them, we care for them, and when they are old enough, they work for us."

"As thieves."

"Not as thieves, though your skills might be useful."

The boy swallowed nervously. "As an assassin?"

Elise raised an eyebrow. "Actually, we don't have assassins, but we do have soldiers. Your skills might prove quite useful as a scout. But as I said we look for talented people. If you want, you can be a soldier, or an engineer, or a ... scholar. It would be your choice."

"Would I stay here?"

"No, you would be sent to a far away place. It is unlikely that you would ever return here."

The boy shook his head. "I can't. My sister."

"She can come with you."

"No. She's sick, she can't travel."

"That's okay," Elise said. "I am a very good healer. I can make her better."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then ...if you can make her better, I accept."

**-x-x-x-**

It did not take long for Elise to bring the boy's sister - Ana to her house. She put the small girl into a bed and begun to inspect her.

The boy hovered anxiously in the background. "Is she going to be okay?"

Elise took a healing device from a pocket and activated it. "Yes, she'll be fine."

The boy watched the white glow of the shining light in astonishment. A minute later it stopped and the girl opened her eyes.

"Ana! You're better." The boy hugged his sister and stared at her savior. "What are you? An angel?"

"No."

"Then you're a daemon."

"Not a daemon. Just a woman. Do you still want to come with us?"

"You mean we can go?"

"Yes, I will not force you."

"What happens if I don't come with you."

"You forget everything that happened here," the woman answered.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"We'll come with you."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: And this is the end of arc one. Next one will be from now till the beginning of the first season of Stargate SG1.

About Lilith becoming a queen ... you'll have to wait a bit until she meets the Tok'ra and the Asgard.

Next chapter will be ...interesting. We'll meet the Evil bad guys.

And now, a list of my OC:

**Lilith** - Goa'uld, our main character;

**Maya** - host to Lilith;

**Erika** - Lilith's daughter; has the Ancient Gene;

**Bastet** - System Lord;

**Marduk** - Bastet's lieutenant; Lilith's superior until Lilith conquered Eratna;

**Kyra** - Lilith's Prime; (future Ground Forces Commander);

**Zyr'na**, **Zar'na** - Lilith's twin bodyguards; (future Imperial Guard Commanders);

**Eerie** - Kyra' second; (future Fleet Commander);

**Ka'na** - Exploration Commander;

**Kuro** - Goa'uld Lord. Enemy of Bastet; killed after the battle for Refuge.

**Janak** - Bastet's personal lieutenant - administrator.

**Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

-voider-

Published: October 10, 2009.

-x-x-x-


	15. Chapter 15 Sacrifice part 1

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 15.**

**Sacrifice part 1.**

**-x-x-x-**

**-x-x-x-**

**1763, Eratan Research World.**

Erika stepped out of the Stargate's event horizon. Before her, there were the two black suited squads that came before her. The young woman continued forward and waited for the other two squads that would guard her while she remained on this world.

Surrounded by her guards, Erika made her way through the desert, towards her destination - an Eratan Research Base where research deemed to be too dangerous was performed.

Next to her, Etna - the young woman commanding the Jaffa contingent, retracted her helmet and drew a deep breath of hot air. "Now, that's what air should be like," she said.

Erika gave a mental command, and the suit's helmet retracted. She too drew a deep breath of hot air. "You like this?" she asked.

Etna nodded. "It reminds me of my old home."

"Bubastis looks like this?" Erika asked.

"No, my lady," Etna replied. "Generally, the climate there is similar to Refuge, but I grew up in a desert region."

Erika shook her head and reactivated her mask. "I think I'll stick to the suit's climate controlled air."

"It's your loss," Etna replied.

"Hmm. I wonder if you'd say the same thing if we were on a frozen world."

Soon, the group approached the pyramid and was welcomed by two people.

Both of them bowed. "Princess," one of them said. "I am Sora, I am in command of this outpost and this is Ryna, the head scientist..."

**-x-x-x-**

Erika stood next to Ryna and watched the last test of the new power source. It was one of Ka'na's discoveries. One of the probes sent to survey a world that was once the domain of a Goa'uld detected the new element. The element - naquadria was an element similar to naqahdah. It could be produced from naqahdah and its potential as a power source was found to be immense. However after initial tests, the element was deemed to be far too unstable.

This was the reason the Research outpost was created. This world was a desert world that was discovered by an Eratan probe. It had no stargate or resources, but it had breathable air and a small number of plants and small animals. Here, tests and experiments could not destroy an important Eratan world if they got out of hand.

A stargate was sent to the desert world and a research outpost was constructed. Now, this was the fourth most important Eratan world after Eratna, Refuge and the Trade World. The outpost had almost one thousand Jaffa and humans, with over six hundred technicians, healers and scientists.

Erika came here to help with the research that was made into the naquadria power generator. While only eighteen years old, she was actually one of Eratna's best scientists, her mother made sure of it. It was not a hard task. Erika loved to tinker with all kinds of technology and Lilith always encouraged her daughter, giving Erika full access to her research databases.

This new element was fascinating. "The generator produces a huge amount of power," Erika said as she looked over the research data gathered in the last three tests. Unfortunately the tests resulted in generators gone critical and huge explosions. This was why the tests were performed in space, far away from the outpost.

Ryna nodded with a sigh. "And the power keeps increasing as long as the generator is active. The result is the same. No matter what we do, the generator isn't stable enough. We managed to extend the time it takes for it to go critical, but we're nowhere near enough to getting a stable power source."

Erika nodded unhappily. "Perhaps we'll make some progress with this new version."

**-x-x-x-**

Tanis finished one of the files provided by the spy drones deployed in the system. A year ago, a scoutship surveyed the system.

At that time, the System was uninhabited. It had only one desert world that supported life, though barely. The scout was about to mark the System as useless when it detected energy readings on the planet.

The captain of the scoutship followed the directives set for this type of situation. It deployed all stealth drones in the System, recorded the alien presence for a few days, entered hyperspace and then headed towards the closest communication satellite.

The data recorded by the scout was sent through the ComSat network to Aschen Prime. The Alpha Lines decided that an ambassador and a Cruiser would be dispatched to this new planet from the nearest world.

Tanis was a Beta Line, able to perform autonomously under a set of loose directives. His instructions were to study the newcomers and decide what action was to be taken towards them.

The initial reports suggested that they would not be too hard to deal with. Unfortunately, the situation appeared to have changed and Tanis estimated that these new aliens would be difficult to deal with.

It was true that not all of the Aschen conquests were primitive worlds. Some of the civilizations they encountered were quite advanced, though only one of them was as advanced as the Aschen. But their advanced technology had not made any difference for they were far too trusting towards the Aschen. They did not take any precautions against Aschen bio-weapons and they were easily destroyed, leaving their world and technology for the taking.

The other civilizations were just as easy to conquer. The Aschen would offer them a membership in the Aschen Confederation, giving them technology and medicine to extend their life and cure them from plagues (often created by the Aschen). They would give the natives the technology to upgrade their world's technology, while at the same time they decreased their population. In a few generations the number of natives dropped significantly, leaving a technologically advanced world for the Aschen to colonize. This was an efficient method of conquest. The Aschen would need to expend few resources to upgrade the technology of the ones they conquered. They did not lose resources in bloody wars.

Unfortunately, these new aliens were another matter altogether.

In only one year, the aliens created a large structure. They now had over two thousand defense satellites in the orbit of their world.

While all this was alarming, there were other things that were far more disquieting. First, they were experimenting with something that was far beyond any power source the Aschen had. And second, they had a complete Stargate.

The Stargate was something that the Aschen needed to increase their power and influence. If they had a working Stargate, they could expand their influence to the rest of the galaxy. They would have access to new resources and technology.

The problem was that this new civilization was dangerous. This small outpost was nowhere enough to be of any danger towards the Aschen might, but it would take time for reinforcements to arrive, time in which the aliens would continue to reinforce their world.

The ambassador had no idea if his single ship could face the aliens' defenses, so he would have to use bio-weapons to assure victory. Unfortunately, the aliens were technologically advanced. It was possible they would be able to survive a biologic attack.

Waiting for sufficient reinforcements might take too long. The aliens could increase their defenses too much.

Tanis had two choices. Attack now, or make first contact. Unfortunately this second choice was not without its own risks. The aliens were powerful and warlike. They knew how to use the Stargate. Considering how quickly they started to defend their outpost, they were careful and wary. The usual methods to conquer them might not work.

Tanis heard a ping, indicating a message from the captain of the ship. "Ambassador," the voice of the captain came over the ship's internal com system.

"Yes, Captain," Tanis stated.

"According to our science department, the aliens are about to perform another test."

"Are we close enough to study the experiment?"

"Yes, Ambassador. The ship is at an optimal distance from the estimated location of the experiment. We are close enough to observe the experiment without endangering the ship."

"Send the data to my console," Tanis said before closing the connection to the captain.

In front of Tanis, the holographic map of the desert world appeared. The Ambassador enlarged a section of the map, a zone well away from the planet.

Scanners indicated a small ship exiting the planet's atmosphere. It moved towards four small objects and stopped when it was in their middle. The scanners registered an energy spike, similar to the Aschen transporters, indicating that the aliens had matter transfer technology. The ship begun to accelerate back towards the planet, leaving a small object behind.

An hour later, scanners begun to pick up energy fluctuation from the object left behind. The object was clearly some kind of experimental power generator or a bomb. It began to produce energy. It was far more than the Aschen could provide with such a small device. The energy output started to increase faster and faster. Its growth was not linear, but exponential.

Tanis glanced at the energy readings and realized what would happen. Apparently, the aliens realized it even before he did, for the four objects that were observing the device activated their shields. A second later, the device exploded in a giant ball of expanding energy and an energy wave expanded from the source of the explosion until it caught the four observers. Fortunately for them, their shields were strong enough to resist the approaching wave. The wave continued to expand and dissipate. By the time it reached the Aschen Cruiser, the energy wave presented no threat, allowing the ship to continue to stay cloaked.

The Beta took all information into consideration and came to a decision concerning the aliens.

**-x-x-x-**

Five days after testing the last version of the Naquadria generator, Erika and Ryna were having dinner together, talking about the modifications that would be incorporated into the next version of the experimental generator.

"At the very least, the generator can make a very good bomb," Erika said.

Ryna nodded with a shudder. "Yes. If we really want, we could crack a planet with a powerful enough bomb. We would need more naquadria than we currently have, but it would be doable."

"We already know how to produce naquadria. It's fairly simple as long as we have a sample of naquadria and the naqahdah that would be changed to naquadria."

"Princess, are there any plans of using it as a bomb?" Ryna asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, we aren't having much luck in producing a stable power source. But as a bomb, we wouldn't have too many problems."

"True," Erika agreed. "Sooner or later, we'll probably use it as a bomb. Usually Goa'uld motherships can shrug off explosions, but if we use a long range delivery system to deliver the bomb and we use enough of them, we would at least weaken its shields. If we caught a Ha'tak without shields, we would cripple it or even outright destroy it."

"What about using them for ground attack?"

"Mother is all for limited war, so I doubt we'd ever use them like that," Erika said.

Ryna leaned forward in interest. "Oh?" she asked.

"Most of the time, the Goa'uld System Lords are the same. Off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen things you can do to kill a planet. Usually, when a Goa'uld wants to destroy a civilization, they use planetary bombardment. If you think about it, using motherships to systematically destroy more than a few locations is not very efficient."

"I always thought they just used planetary bombardment as a terror weapon."

"Indeed," Erika nodded. "They could just take a huge asteroid, and drop it into the planet. Or they could use core detonation. Dig into the planet core, plant a few bombs and the earthquakes generated by their detonation would ruin almost any civilization. The Goa'uld frown upon total war, especially when fighting among each other. When fighting outside threats, this rule is sometimes broken."

"But they still do it," Ryna said.

"Yes, but not as often as they could. If we take into consideration how crazy the constant use of sarcophaguses make the Goa'uld, you can not help but wonder why some Goa'uld didn't kill the opposition using weapons of mass destruction."

"Why is that?" Ryna asked curiously.

"It's not like no one ever tried to. It happened. Even among the Goa'uld, there are things that are forbidden or frowned upon. Killing an entire world would be on that list. We aren't going to do that unless we have no choice. If someone showed that he was capable and willing to commit such atrocities, the System Lords would be too afraid that he would be able to incinerate them and their most important worlds. They would take steps to prevent it."

"So, no using naquadria bombs on planets," Ryna said,

"Yes, using them in this manner would be advantageous only on a short term. Long term, it would be disastrous. We aren't going to do it unless we have no other choice."

"Good," Ryna said. "But if we don't find a way to make the generator work, we'll have no other application for naquadria."

"Not necessarily," Erika replied. "Even if we don't manage to compensate for the instability, we still have a power generator that can provide tremendous power generation. We'll just have to put a few safety measures to shut the generator before it goes critical or only use it for short periods of time. You know, at the very least, it would make a perfect power source for short hyperspace jumps."

"That doesn't sound that useful," Ryna noted.

"Perhaps, but I am sure we'll find a use for it."

"It will have to be military use. I wouldn't trust it for civilian use. I..." Ryna cleared her throat and coughed hard into her hand. She stared at her head before looking at Erika.

"What is it?" the princess asked.

The scientist showed her hand to Erika. There was blood on it.

Erika stood up quickly. "Let's get you to the healers."

Ryna nodded and got to her head unsteadily.

When they got to the medical wing, they were surprised to see that they were not the only ones. There were half a dozen people already being checked up by the healers.

A healer came to them. "What happened?" she asked.

"Ryna coughed blood." Erika replied.

"Damn," the healer said. "That makes seven people that got sick in the last ten minutes. "Princess, we might have a contagion. Please activate your helmet. The suits should be able to protect you from any airborne pathogens."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: Sorry for the delay. Here was part one of "Sacrifice." I have 1700 words of the next chapter, so it will be out as soon as I finish it.

Now, you may wonder how this will be solved. Will they survive? Will they all die? Or will it be somewhere in the middle? Or somewhere near the extremes.

I chose to make the Aschen into a species that used genetic modifications on themselves, (or someone used it on them and they continued the trend,) and massive doses of indoctrination. We'll see more of their back-story and society in future chapters.

To me, the Aschen always felt similar to a hive organism.

So we have the Alpha Lines; the smartest and the ones with the most free will.

Then we have the Beta Lines. (The dude that tried to sign the treaty with Earth would be a Beta.) They are administrators and scientists. Smart, but they are somewhat limited in their free will.

Then we have people bred as specialists: scientists, technicians, medics, military and so on.

The last ones would be "drones."

**Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

-voider-

Published: November 29, 2009.

-x-x-x-


	16. Chapter 16 Sacrifice part 2

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 16.**

**Sacrifice part 2.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1763, Eratan Research World.**

Three hours later, before Erika and Etna could enter the briefing room, they were interrupted by Sora. "Etna, may we have a word?" she asked.

Erika gave her bodyguard a nod and entered the briefing room. She nodded at the two occupants of the room who rose to their feat and gave her a brief bow. "Princess," they both said.

The first one was the scientist Ryna and the second was Zara, the head healer.

Erika made a brief hand gesture in dismissal. "There is no need for ceremony. We have more important things to do."

Sora and Etna entered the room and took their seats.

Erika headed towards the head of the table and grimaced as she sat down.

"My Lady, are you feeling well?" the healer asked worriedly.

"It is nothing that others do not experience," Erika said dismissively.

The healer took out a healing device, but Erika shook her head. "Not now." Before the healer could continue, Sora intervened. "The princess is correct. Let us get down to business. Zara, what can you tell us about this plague?"

"I am afraid that there is little we can do," the healer admitted. "The virus is ... unlike anything I have ever seen. From what we could gather though, it looks like it was engineered."

Sora narrowed her eyes. "Explain," she commanded.

"Its genetic structure is far too organized to be something that evolved naturally. I believe that it was engineered as a general weapon towards all living organisms. The virus has two phases. The first is a ... stealthy one. The virus spreads for eighty hours without damaging the hosts it infected. The damage they produce in this phase is practically impossible to detect, unless you are specifically looking for it. After eighty hours, the virus was spread through virtually any organism around the pyramid. This ensured that the virus contaminated almost all organisms. Even if it hadn't, after the virus entered the second stage, there was no escape from infection. The virus turned voracious, multiplying rapidly. From what we gathered, it was at this time that the symptoms became visible. If there was someone that was not infected before the second stage started, in the next hour they were surely infected. Even so, we are checking all our personal to see if anyone is uninfected or if they have some sort of resistance or immunity."

"I see," Sora said. "How long do we have? And can we find a cure in the time we have?"

Zara took a deep breath. "It depends. If we are sent enough sarcophaguses and healers, we might be able to stretch our time to a few days. If not, then I estimate that we have up to fifteen hours for the humans and thirty for the Jaffa if we use healing devices to repair some of the damage produced by the plague. If we didn't have the use of the healing devices, our time would be much shorter - five hours for the humans; ten for the Jaffa."

"What about a Goa'uld?" Erika asked. "The Jaffa are somewhat resistant to this plague. Would a Goa'uld be immune to it?"

"You are considering putting Goa'uld symbiotes into the humans?" Sora asked.

Erika nodded. "We could save the humans. The Jaffa are far more resistant to the plague. We can use healing devices and sarcophaguses for the Jaffa to delay their death. It might buy us enough time to come up with a solution to the plague."

Sora nodded. "Zara, would that work?"

"No. Not even a Goa'uld is able to fight it off completely." The healer looked pained as she said it. "I estimate that it would take over sixty hours for the plague to kill a Goa'uld, but in the end, it would only be a delaying action. To extent its life, the Goa'uld might be able to jump hosts, but again, it would be a delaying action and we're trying to save our people, not that of the Goa'uld. I am afraid that this plague is beyond us. The virus is too voracious, too resistant. It is not a natural virus that has weaknesses. It is engineered to consume the host and leave devastation in its wake. We tried to create a virus that specifically attacks the plague, but it was useless. Creating something to combat any plague is not something we can do in a day, let alone in a few hours. And this one is far more advanced than anything we ever saw. As I said, we already tried to create a quick and dirty virus to attack the plague, but only a small fraction of the plague was destroyed, the rest adapted. Also, when the plague cells died, they released neurotoxins and poisons. We would need weeks if not months to create something to combat this plague." The healer looked almost defeated. "We will continue to search for a solution, but it is unlikely we will find anything before our time runs out."

"Could Refuge do something?" Sora asked.

"No," Zara replied. "There is nothing on Refuge or Eratna that could help us. The only thing that could destroy this thing are the nanotech and Goa'uld cells we are developing."

"My Lady?" Sora asked.

"Unfortunately, those technologies are still a decade away from testing, let alone practical use. What about stasis pods?" Erika asked.

The healer glanced at Sora and nodded slowly. "That could work. The problem is that we would need almost one thousand pods. We have less than one hundred and they are scattered over our planets. We could get more from the other Goa'uld, but..."

"It would take time we don't have," Sora finished.

"And we couldn't get enough of them," Erika added. "Maybe a hundred more pods, but I doubt it."

"Does anyone have any idea about what caused this plague?" Sora asked. "Was it already here or were we attacked by someone?"

"It was an attack," Erika stated. Everyone but Ryna stared at the Eratan princess and she continued. "Ryna and I have been checking our sensor data and I found out two interesting pieces of data. Twenty days ago, our sensors picked up a very small gravitational anomaly on the other side of the System. We are not certain, but there is a chance that it was a ship dropping out of hyperspace. Unfortunately, we had no probes on that side of the system and we had too little data, so our AI classified it as an anomaly."

"Minor sensor anomalies are rare, but they do happen," Ryna continued. "On Eratna or Refuge, this wouldn't have happened due to the many surveillance satellites seeded throughout the systems. But here, we are not that well covered."

Erika nodded. "That is correct. What assets we currently have in the system were considered more than enough to cover an empty System with no resources that had no Stargate before we got one."

"Our primary defense here was that no one knew we were here," Sora added unhappily. "Can we be sure that the anomaly was a starship and not something else?"

"Yes," Erika nodded, "On our last test of the naquadria generator, we picked up something that must have been a stealth ship."

Sora narrowed her eyes at Ryna. "How come we find out about this now? The test was six days ago."

"At that time, this data was ignored," Ryna replied. "It is only because we suspected that there was an enemy ship in the system that we were able to determine this. At the time of the explosion, there was a shockwave that spread out from the centre of the blast. The energy wave continued to expand until it encountered something in its path. Thanks to all the probes we have, we were able to find every place where the energy wave encountered that something. In some of those places we had our own probes. In others there were asteroids. However, in one of those places, we could find nothing. There had to be a solid object in that location and it was quite big. We estimate that it was approximately 350 meters long, 120 meters in width and 80 meters in height."

"The only reason we picked this up," Erika said, "was because the ship was so close to the location of our space tests and we were able to use the data recorded by our probes to construct a model of the explosion and compare it to what actually happened."

"I see. Was it a Goa'uld ship?" Sora asked.

"We do not know for sure," Erika answered. "According to our intel, there's not supposed to be any Goa'uld in this sector. The Goa'uld rarely use bio-weapons, especially those that also kill the Goa'uld. The enemy ship is significantly bigger than what a Goa'uld managed to hide. Even our Eratan stealth field tech would barely be able to hide a vessel of that size. It is more likely that this is a race we never encountered."

"If it was a Goa'uld, who could have done it?"

"If I were to take a guess," the princess said, "I'd say Sokar or Ra. More likely, Sokar. His tech level is far above that of Ra, almost on par with our own. But I don't think it was one of them or any Goa'uld we know."

"I see," Sora sighed. "Princess, do you have any idea how strong this threat is?"

"Just a rough estimation," Erika answered. "I would put them somewhere around the Goa'uld tech level. Obviously, their life sciences are more advanced than our own and their stealth field are at least as good as ours. It could be that bio-warfare and stealth is their main method of offense and their conventional weapons are not very advanced. However, it is just as probable that their other sciences are just as advanced. It may be that they just find bio-weapons far more efficient."

"This is a research outpost," Etna, Erika's bodyguard said. "It may be that they want access to our research data. They might not want to use conventional warfare to reduce damage to the pyramid and our research. If the plague kills us all, they may think that they'll be able to just take what we have without risking themselves."

"A good point," Sora said. "If we have an enemy like this, we can't afford to ask help from Refuge."

"Maybe we can," Etna said. "When we use the Stargate from this world, we first gate to one of our Transit Worlds on the other side of the Galaxy, so even if they have the Stargate under surveillance, they will only get the address to a barren, useless world, far from Eratna or Refuge. The surveillance on the Transit Worlds is quite good, so I doubt that they would be able to sneak something past the sensors that are around the Transit World's Stargate."

Sora looked at Erika and shook her head. "No, we can not afford to make contact with our people. No one left from this world in the last month, therefore the enemy was unable to use the Stargate to spread the plague. Even if the risk is so small, if we want to keep our people safe, we cannot leave."

Erika nodded reluctantly. "I agree. They demonstrated that they have cloaking technology that is on par with our own. If we use the Stargate, they might have something that could get to the other side, despite anything we might do."

"We should also do something about the Stargate's control crystal. It is possible that they could use it to find the worlds we dialed."

Erika nodded. "Unlikely, but possible."

"Would it be possible to capture their ship?" Sora asked. "They might have the antidote to this plague."

Erika shook her head and rose to her feat. "Doubtful," she said. "But it's worth looking into. If that is all, I'll take Ryna and get to work."

"Princess," Etna said quietly. "I believe it would be better if you rested and let Zara have a look at you."

"It won't make any difference," Erika said with a sad smile on her face. "Resting isn't going to solve anything. I don't want to spend the last hours of my life waiting to die. I'd like for my last moments to be productive."

Etna rose up and walked to her usual spot behind Erika.

"Princess," Sora said softly.

"Yes?"

"One day, I hope you will be able to forgive us."

"For what?" Erika asked.

"For this," Etna said before firing her zat'ni'katel into Erika's neck, where she was unprotected by her suit. The Eratan princess began to fall down, but Etna caught her in mid-fall.

A tear fell on the one Etna swore to protect with her life. The bodyguard felt a hand press on her shoulder.

"It had to be done," Sora said. "We must perform our duty."

**-x-x-x-**

Tanis watched the data they gathered on the aliens. The plague unleashed on the aliens was not one of the ones the Aschen usually used. Those were specifically created to produce the effect they needed. But the one Tanis used, was one of the most dangerous plagues ever developed by the Aschen. It did not have the typical subtlety and elegance of an Aschen bio-weapon. It was rough, but so very efficient even when they did not possess the genetic code of the target. The Aschen could cure the plague, but only because they created it. Soon, the plague would kill them. When that happened, the Aschen would gain not only a new, powerful power source, but a working Stargate as well.

"Administrator." The captain's voice interrupted the Beta's musings.

"Tanis pressed a button and answered. "Captain."

"Ambassador, our sensors are picking up a power buildup on the planet. We also recorded a short, but powerful hyper-signal from the planet."

Tanis pressed a few keys on his computer console and the map of the desert planet appeared. A few more taps, and the area where the aliens' base was located, enlarged. The ambassador checked the power readings they were getting from the planet.

Seconds passed and the power build up continued.

And then, a dome of plasma engulfed the pyramidal structure and expanded.

Tanis was silent until the explosion died out. "Captain."

The explosion engulfed a third of the planet's surface," The captain stated. "The structure and the Stargate were destroyed."

"Very well. Head back towards the base. Our leaders must be informed of this development."

**-x-x-x-**

**1763, Refuge.**

"My lady?"

I turned around to see the twins looking at me with a expression of worry on their faces. In all the years they served me, I have never seen them worried.

"Zyr'na, Zar'na. What is it?"

The twins hesitated at first. "We received a message from the Research World through our HyperNet."

From the Research World? That shouldn't be possible. That world is still too far away and we have yet to place the Communication satellites to link it to the HyperNet. "How?" I asked.

"The signal was boosted so it would reach the HyperNet," Zyr'na answered. "The message was very short. We got a Q-12-S-1, P-17, an E-7, a R-3, an IF-1-5 and the code to a world that is halfway between Refuge and the Research World."

'My little Erika ...'

'She's all right,' Maya said. 'It's an IF-1-5. That means that her state is critical, but stable. She's safe. We just have to get her back to us.'

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"My lady? Your orders?" Zyr'na asked.

"Have Eerie take two Ha'taks, four bombers and two scouts. She is to head to the address of the world mentioned in the message. Also, have all forces alerted about the biologic threat. All our forces and worlds are to immediately enter quarantine." I commanded my helmet to activate and breathed the clean air provided by the suit. "We are to take all precautions. If we have a plague on our hands, it will not spread more than it already has."

Both of the twins' helmets activated to protect them from any airborne pathogens.

"Also, call a meeting in four hours."

The twins bowed and silently exited my room.

'We have an unknown enemy that uses biologic weapons. Weapons that are advanced enough to have forced one of our outposts to self-destruct.'

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: Next chapter will be the last part of Sacrifice. We'll see Etna and Sora's reasons for what they did and Lilith's plan toward the new enemy.

Some people may not agree that there could be something that could kill a Goa'uld. Since the Aschen were able to defeat the Goa'uld, (presumably through the use of bio-weapons), Aschen bio-weapons can kill Goa'uld.

There have been a couple of people that noticed similarities between my Aschen and the "Brave New World" book. Frankly, I haven't read it, but the reviews got me interested a bit and I read a synopsis of the book. There are some similarities between the two -- like different genetic lines that are also social castes. However, my Aschen are not as... emotional and dysfunctional as the Brave New World people. (They are certainly not drug addicts.) They have a genetic predisposition towards logic, obedience and few emotions, especially if they are lower on the genetic/social scale.

Actually, they are so very much like Lilith... but more on that later.

A conflict between Eratna and Aschen will come, but do not expect it to be a cakewalk for Lilith. After all, in the SG1 timeline(reality) where Earth entered the Aschen Confederation, they were able to destroy the Goa'uld.

I think of two major players here: Anubis(half-ascended) and Sokar(or the one who got his territory and ships if he died). They were also able to deal with the replicators and ensure that the Jaffa gained no power. I think it was unlikely to do this if they had only bio-weapons in their arsenal. Anubis would have been able to do something about them and the replicators were immune.

So the Aschen are strong militarily as well. Given their efficiency and logic they would also have conventional weapons. The use of bio-weapons is due to the efficiency. They may not have that much of a fleet, but their local defenses must be formidable.

As I said before I do not like Uber weapons. If you go against any powerful enemy, you'll lose people, ships, resources and planets. That means that there will be more to dealing with the Aschen than sending her ships to their homeworld. Actually, at this point, that would be suicide.

**Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

-voider-

Published: December 8, 2009.

-x-x-x-


	17. Chapter 17 Sacrifice part 3

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 17.**

**Sacrifice part 3.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1764, Refuge.**

"Approximately ninety hours ago, an unknown enemy released a plague upon the Outpost under my command. Ten hours ago, our people began to show the initial symptoms of the plague. After three hours, our healers came to the conclusion that we would be unable to come up with a cure in the time we had left."

"Princess Erika and our scientists determined that this was an attack performed by a stealth ship that must have entered the System twenty days ago. Our sensor data shows that during our last naquadria test there was a 350 meters long stealth ship that was observing the test. We believe that this ship released the plague."

"Those under my command, princess Erika and I decided that we could not take the risk of contacting Refuge or Eratna. Soon, all but one of us will die. We have one stasis pod in our inventory. Since I thought that the Princess would be displeased with the idea of her using it while she could still work to search for a solution to our situation, I had her stunned and put her in the pod." The woman smiled slightly before continuing. "I believe that ultimately, I might have convinced her to use the pod, but I was afraid that by the time I did, the plague would have advanced too much. I was afraid that should she not enter stasis as soon as possible, the damage that would have to be fixed would be too serious even when we had the technology or the cure required to heal her. I apologize for doing that without her permission, but I am not sorry."

"All of our people recorded a last message that will be sent with our stealth scout ship. The ship will also carry all our research and sensor data. The stasis pod that contains the princess, a sample of the plague and all we managed to find about it, will also be onboard the ship."

"Before the plague kills us all, we will send the scout ship away on auto pilot, send a warning to Refuge and the location of the ship, and then we will initiate self-destruct. Our home must remain safe."

Sora straightened and saluted with her fist to her heart. The woman coughed once and a trickle of blood fell from the corner of her mouth. "For Eratna," she finished.

The recording ended and the hologram disappeared.

'Maya, I was foolish.'

'Why do you say that?' Maya asked.

'I thought that there would be no dangers that could threaten that world. She could have died.'

'You couldn't have known that they would be under attack by biologic weapons.'

'I know,' I sighed. 'If only it hadn't happened now. In a few years, our new research would have been able to take care of it or at least delay it long enough. Nine hundred thirty-four of our people died. Many of them some of our best technicians and researchers."

'What will we do?" Maya asked.

'As much as I wish to go Goa'uld on them, I will not. They will pay, but I will not sacrifice our people's lives to do it.'

'If you tell the System Lords about the plague, they will burn their worlds. We wouldn't need to lift a finger. And frankly, I wouldn't care if they all died.'

For a moment, I contemplated the idea. 'No, that would mean that they would find out too much about us. I will not put revenge above our people. Had she died and the enemy were too strong, I might have done it. But we know too little of the Enemy. They will pay. No one harms what is ours and gets away with it. More importantly, no one harms our daughter.'

'Yes. Revenge is a dish best served cold.'

**-x-x-x-**

I stepped into the conference room and took my seat at the head of the table. Usually, Erika would be here, but it will take time until we develop something that would cure her.

The twins took their seats and I nodded at the rest of the occupants, Kyra, Eerie and Ka'na.

"I believe we are all familiarized with what happened on the research world."

Everybody nodded somberly.

"We have a problem. An enemy that uses bio-weapons. Until we are certain that we have a certain immunity from them, we can not afford to fight them. Ka'na, I want you to find their planets, without letting them know about us. The data brought back from the research world has given us a general direction from which the enemy ship may have arrived from. It is also possible that the probes that remained in the System got more data on the Enemy ship when it left. Sora positioned her stealth probes to watch out for the opening of a hyper-space window in the outer system. Thanks to that, we'll have a starting point."

"And when we find them?" Kyra asked.

"When we do, we learn everything we can about them. Once we know their strengths and weaknesses, we will take action. But before that, we can not afford to fight them."

The female Jaffa who was the leader of my ground forces nodded thoughtfully. All my people were outraged by what happened. But they were not Goa'uld slaves to be thrown in combat on the whims of a delusional System Lord. They were not indoctrinated the same way other Jaffa were. To them, dieing in battle for the glory of their ruler had no meaning. Other Jaffa fought for honor. My people fought for duty. And duty demanded for our enemies to die and our people to stay alive.

"I presume that we will not attack until we have protections against a repeat of the plague," Kyra said.

"Indeed," I nodded. "We are still a few years away from that, but soon, our symbiote cells and medical nano-bots will be ready. With that, we will also lose our need for Goa'uld symbiotes for Jaffa. That means independence from all Goa'uld."

"Does that mean that we no longer need Bastet?" Kyra asked in delight.

"Yes," I replied. "That also means that we don't need to stay as well hidden from the Goa'uld as we did until now."

From now on ... or better said after we start building our defenses, even if it is found out about what I did, they won't be able to do anything against us. It takes time to assemble an attack over galactic distances. Only Asgard vessels are capable of high speed. Bastet would need months to organize and attack us. Other System Lords would need many years. By the time they learn something that makes them suspicious, our defenses over Eratna will be too strong.

Sooner or later, I must break away from Bastet in particular and the System Lords in general. It would be best if it was not I the one who initiated the break. In time, Bastet may learn too much about us and she will do something stupid, though I doubt she will do anything before she consolidates her power over the new territory she conquered. As long as I behave myself, she won't suspect us. However one day, she will attack us. Being one of the weaker Goa'uld System Lords, she has something over a hundred Motherships. Even if she attacks Eratna, She will not attack with too many forces. She can not afford to weaken her defenses, so if she attacks, she won't bring more than ten to twenty motherships. We have four upgraded Ha'taks over Eratna and tens of thousands of defense satellites. Unlike the rest of the Goa'uld, our ships have competent crews that know how to properly operate it and perform damage control. Also, our Gliders are far more powerful than the standard version. In a few years we'll have a few more motherships and the first Fortresses will be constructed. When that happens, twenty Ha'taks would not be able to destroy our defenses. And if she were to lose so many motherships, she won't be able to muster enough forces for another attack until she rebuilds her forces.

'What if she comes with her new Flagship?' Maya asked.

'That... would be a problem. Fortunately, it will take years for the Flagship to be finished.' Flagships come in many sizes from something slightly bigger than a normal Ha'tak to huge behemoths. 'Since Bastet gobbled Kuro's territory so quickly...'

'Thanks to us,' Maya pointed out. 'If we hadn't killed him, the war would have continued for years.'

'Yes. Since her losses were so small, she decided to build that monstrosity.'

'To put so many resources into that thing," Maya wondered. 'Who does she think she is? Ra or Sokar?'

'There are bigger Flagships out there,' I pointed out. 'I believe Sokar's is bigger. That thing is over one hundred times bigger than a Ha'tak. Bastet's flagship will only be about forty times bigger than a Ha'tak.'

'Do you think we could defend ourselves against her Flagship and a fleet of Ha'taks?'

'It depends. It would be best to make a few plans to deal with it if that ever comes to pass.'

'You want to steal her Flagship?' Maya asked in amusement.

'That would be nice, but impossible,' I answered.' The chance of success for something like stealing a Flagship is... low. It isn't a measly Ha'tak. She would have plenty of defenses to prevent anyone from stealing it."

'That means that we'll have to raise a force almost half as strong as Bastet's. Think we can do it? Would it not be safer to just retreat to Refuge?'

'No, it would be better to have a second power center. If something happens to Refuge, we can retreat to Eratna. If something happens to Eratna, we retreat to Refuge.'

'We could always find another world instead of Eratna,' Maya pointed out. 'Somewhere away from Refuge and the enemy; somewhere away from the Goa'uld.'

'Yes, we could, but if we choose one of the worlds mined by the Goa'uld and abandoned, then we take the risk of a System Lord finding out about our presence on a useless world. He'll take interest in our presence on an abandoned world. If we search for a new world near Eratna using our probes, we would need time. There is no guarantee that we will find a world as rich as Eratna that is also habitable. While quite a bit of Eratna's resources are already mined, the rest of the system is still rich in resources. The advantage to finding a new world would be that the world would be hidden. The disadvantage would be that we would have to split our resources between Eratna and the new world. Eratna is in a good galactic position - in Goa'uld territory, but not too close to the Major System Lords. It is a target among many. That can be an advantage. Staying among the Goa'uld not only offers some protection, but it also gives us a point of interaction with the Goa'uld.'

'This means that we must delay any potential conflict with Bastet until we can tell her to go away, only less politely. But if we start building our orbital infrastructure, will it not increase the risk of discovery?'

'True, there is a risk of that happening,' I agreed with my host. 'But to properly defend ourselves, we will need it. Our sensor net around Eratna showed that, until now, no one even bothered to check us. Hopefully, by the time anyone comes sniffing around, we'll have already increased our defenses. For now, Bastet still has no reason to distrust us. By the time she realizes the truth, our defenses will be strong enough to deal with a major attack.'

'And if our forces won't be sufficient?' Maya asked.

'Then we'll still be in the same situation we are now in, and we'll have to retreat. But I am hoping that it won't come to that. If we want to keep Eratna, we need to protect it. If we want to protect it we deed raw resources. While the planet-side mining facilities are very efficient, we need more. The most efficient way to mine enough resources is to start building space mining facilities.'

"Due to the fact that secrecy is now not as important," I said turning my attention back to Eerie, "we will begin to construct space mining facilities. We have the resource stockpiles to expand quickly. Even with the personnel loss caused by the plague we still have more than enough technicians and scientists to expand. We also have the skilled workers educated enough to work with advanced technology. The first mining operation will be on Eratna. The asteroid belt is rich in naqahdah. The second one will be on a new world close to Refuge. It will also become our primary shipyard." A hologram of the region of space near Refuge appeared and two stars were highlighted. As you see, the System is fairly close to Refuge - just a little over one hundred light-years. It's one of the richest Systems discovered by Ka'na. It has no habitable world, but it is rich not only in naqahdah, but in other useful elements as well. Since there is no habitable world, even if the enemy wants to attack the mining facilities with bio-weapons, they will be unable to do it. Even if they do, the number of infection will be limited. We will also start building more defenses over our worlds, to protect them from attack."

"The Fortresses?" Eerie asked hopefully.

"Yes," I answered. The defense satellites were useful, but they could not handle something the size of a Ha'tak even en masse. The Fortresses would be massive, defensive battle stations, almost half the size of a Goa'uld mothership, but more powerful than a standard Goa'uld mothership. They would be built with a single purpose - to take and inflict massive damage. They had no hyper-drive and low speed - useless for offense, but perfect for the defense of a planet. Eerie had been waiting for quite some time for their production. It had not happened until now due to the massive resource requirements.

"We'll also start building a few motherships. Our educated population has increased enough to allow more technologically advanced projects."

**-x-x-x-**

**1767, Refuge.**

The young woman in front of me shifted in her sleep. Finally, we were able to come up with a cure for the plague. It was a difficult thing to do, but in the end, a cure that had a one hundred percent chance of success was developed. It was cured with the first generation of medical nano-bots. It will take a little more time until they, along with the Goa'uld symbiote cells still under development will be used on the rest of my people. Soon, I'll have no more reason for Goa'uld symbiotes for my Jaffa. And the humans will be long lived and gain an immunity to illnesses.

Taking Erika's right hand into my own I smiled in relief.

'As long lived as us,' Maya agreed.

We stayed like that for what seemed like hours until finally, Erika groaned and opened her eyes.

"Mother?" she asked in confusion.

"Yes, little one,"

"What happened? The last thing I remember... they stunned me!"

"Yes," I sighed.

For a minute, she said nothing, trying to understand what happened. "They're dead, aren't they," Erika finally said.

"Yes. They stunned you and put you in a stasis pod. After that, they sent you off on a stealth ship."

"How ... what happened with them?"

"They used all the naquadria they had to self destruct."

A tear fell on the alabaster skin of her face and I gathered her in my arms. For her, the loss was far more personal. I lost my subjects, but she lost friends.

She stayed like that for a long time before she felt ready to talk more. "Do we know who did it?" she asked.

"Not yet. We have an idea of the general direction they came from, but we have yet to find one of their worlds. It will take time until we do. It will take time to make sure that what we found is the Enemy. It will take even more time to learn more about them."

"And when we do?" Erika asked.

"We will have to see how powerful they are."

"We'll wait until we have a big enough fleet before we crush them?" Erika half-asked and half-demanded.

I nodded and she chuckled once.

"What?" I asked.

"Now I'm really glad you are not like one of those pacifistic species I read about."

"Many of them died out, the main reason being their inability to fight back. Some of them still prosper, but the Goa'uld pushed them into isolating themselves on their homeworlds. No, I am certainly not pacifistic. We will make them pay, little one. I promise!"

**-x-x-x**

**1772, Bubastis**.

"... the Flagship will be ready within the week," Janak finished his report.

Bastet, who was lounging on her throne, nodded, pleased at the news. "I am pleased," she stated. "Let us see if I will have a reason to test my new Flagship." The System Lord stared at the floor in front of her throne. "Janak. Set up the meeting. My fellow Goa'uld must witness my power."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note**: Next one or two chapters we'll have one or two battles/skirmishes ... however, it won't be necessarily against who you might think.

Published: December 25, 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	18. Chapter 18 Rebel

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 18.**

**Rebel.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1772, Bubastis**.

Lilith, followed by her twin bodyguards stepped into Bastet's throne room.

The twins pealed off at the entrance of the room where the other Goa'uld's Jaffa were arrayed along the walls. They found a spot along the walls while Lilith stepped forward toward the throne Bastet was sitting on.

Behind the System Lord, her four Lieutenants stood to the sides of her throne. Over two dozen minor Goa'uld were standing to the sides of the throne room. Many of them disliked Lilith for her relative light rise through the ranks, though they would never admit it. Not only was she reputed to be quite strong, but she was well regarded by one of Bastet's Lieutenants.

Lilith stopped in front of the throne, in the customary place one of Bastet's subordinates was supposed to stop. She gave a deep bow to the System Lord. "My Lady."

"Lilith," Bastet smiled at the Goa'uld in front of her. "I am glad you were able to come. I haven't seen you in some time. Busy with Eratna?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"I hope there is nothing too difficult," Bastet purred. "After all, you have always been so prompt in delivering your tribute."

"You honor me."

"Do I?" Bastet asked. "I wonder. Tell me, Lilith, a few years ago, your Jaffa stopped visiting Bubastis for a few months. Was there something wrong?"

"No, my Lady."

"I find it curious that at that exact same time, that new Trade World you introduced us to, increased their defenses."

"I do not understand," Lilith lied. She was referring to the time after the plague when Lilith increased all of her defenses.

"Then let me make myself clear, Lilith," Bastet said coldly. I have found your behavior suspicious for some time. Your connection with that Trade World interests me. I will know about it."

Suddenly, four one meter tall shield generators rose from the floor around Lilith. They hummed with power, and a shield formed inside them.

Bastet smiled maliciously at Lilith while the rest of the Goa'uld were shocked at Lilith's fall from power.

**-x-x-x-**

As soon as the shield formed around me, my suspicions were confirmed. It was time to cut my ties with Bastet. With a mental command, the smart metal of my suit covered my head. Instead of the cat mask used by Bastet, my helmet turned into the same human like shape used by my Jaffa on the Trade World and on Refuge. There was no more need to hide myself.

I allowed Bastet to see me through the smooth, obsidian black material of the mask. "Bastet, you have forced my hand."

"Oh?"

"Yes," I said in satisfaction. The suit's sensor showed me that soon, I would be free of the shield.

**-x-x-x-**

Zyr'na and Zar'na watched as the shield snapped around their Lady.

They did not need to glance around to realize the dangerous situation they were in. They were surrounded by over a hundred Jaffa and there were two dozen Goa'uld around them. Their suits' sensors showed that a large number of Jaffa were about to enter the throne room. To free their mistress, they would have to move quickly.

As soon as Lilith's head was covered up, they spun into motion, not even waiting for their own helmets to form.

Drawing her Zat'ni'katel and short Staff weapon, Zyr'na targeted one of the shield generators that imprisoned Lilith and opened fire with both of her weapons. Bolts of plasma and energy slammed in the unprotected shield generator, and the shield began to lose cohesion.

Zar'na - the second twin, turned her attention toward the exit. She drew four small grenades and threw the first of them behind her. The second grenade was thrown in front of her and the last two grenades were thrown at the exit from the throne room. The grenades bounced off the wall of the hallway before getting out of sight. Drawing her weapons, she opened fire and rushed the Jaffa who were between her and the exit.

After the shield begun to collapse, Zyr'na turned her attention towards the enemy Jaffa behind her sister. She moved backwards while firing.

Four seconds after they opened fire, Zar'na's grenades exploded in balls of light and sound, stunning the enemy Jaffa around them.

A second later, half the Jaffa that remained standing began to fire at the twins. In the next second, the other half joined the first half.

Fortunately for Lilith's bodyguards, most Jaffa had quite a bit of trouble with precision. Unfortunately for them, the Jaffa that fired at them were some of the most skilled Jaffa on the planet. Worse, their skill hardly mattered when almost eighty blasts of plasma were shot at two targets that were barely four meters apart.

Zar'na was hit by eight staff blasts in the back, but her sister - who was between her and most of the Jaffa, was hit nineteen times. Both of them fell to the floor, but they quickly regained their feat, much to the surprise of their enemies.

That surprise did not take long, for as soon as the two sisters continued to fire at the enemy Jaffa, Staff blast after Staff blast peppered the twins despite their best efforts.

**-x-x-x- **

As soon as the shield failed, I activated my own personal shield and ran towards the exit.

The twins had managed to kill a few enemy Jaffa and stun a few dozen Jaffa, (half of them, the reinforcements that were about to enter the throne room,), but they were quickly overwhelmed by staff blasts and fell.

Fortunately, even such a concentration of fire couldn't disable them, for they instantly recovered and continued to fight as if nothing happened.

Each of the twins' blasts of energy and plasma hit a target. They were experts with all sorts of weapons and their skill at hitting moving targets was second to none.

But even if they never failed to hit their targets, they were only two and the enemy Jaffa were too numerous.

Time to thin their numbers.

I activated my hand devices, pointed them at a cluster of six Jaffa and launched a shockwave. Not even waiting to see the result, I moved my hands away from each other, fireing at the Jaffa that tried to kill my bodyguards.

Behind me, I felt a power buildup as Bastet launched a shockwave of her own at me. "Stop her!" the System Lord shouted.

Immediately, some of the Jaffa that were firing at the twins changed targets. At the same time, the Goa'uld that had hand devices, pointed them at me.

Despite the lower number of enemies that fired at the twins, yet another staff blast slammed in Zyr'na's abdomen. This time however, the suit could only partially shield her.

Bastet's shockwave came first, but was stopped by my shield. Following it, the shield began to be peppered by dozens of staff blasts and shockwaves. The shield strained on the brink of collapse and flickered once, allowing a few staff blasts and two shockwaves to pass through.

I felt myself being propelled forward, ducked and rolled.

Taken by surprise, the enemy attacks were unable to keep track of me and the following attacks passed harmlessly above me, allowing my shield to recover slightly.

Just as I ended my roll, I pointed my hands at the Goa'uld behind me and fired at them at maximum rate - two shockwaves per second from each of my hand devices.

Ten shots later, I was forced to stop or risk having my hand devices fail. Fortunately for me, the Goa'uld have very good preservation instincts that made them more worried for their lives than at killing me. Even Bastet hid behind her throne when two successive shockwaves slammed into her shield.

Just as I was about to reach the twins, who by now reached the exit, Zyr'na fell down. This time, she did not recover.

Zar'na turned toward her fallen sister, but before she could do anything to help her, she was stopped by my voice. "Take point," I ordered.

I wondered if she would abandon her sister on my orders and to my satisfaction, after a short glance at the smocking suit of her sister, she rushed through the exit, stepping over the Jaffa stunned by her two grenades.

If I wanted to take my bodyguards body with me, I would have to delay my exit by one or two seconds. These two seconds could cost me my life. Unlikely, but possible.

But if I save her, it could save me in the future. I will have their full devotion.

With a thought, I changed my shield to allow the passage of matter if its speed was low enough as I reached the fallen Zyr'na. I bent down, grabbed the suited form of my bodyguard, threw her on my shoulder and returned the shield to its previous setting.

Behind me, the number of attacks decreased as I exited the throne room.

In front of me, Zar'na was rushing through the enemy Jaffa that stood in her path.

We ran until we reached the exit from Bastet's pyramid.

After we got out, Zar'na caught sight of the form I carried. "Is she..."

"We must get her to a sarcophagus," I said.

Zar'na nodded, preparing herself to fight her way to the Stargate if we had to. In front of us, there was a Jaffa patrol who caught sight of us and the Jaffa that began to pour out of the pyramid behind us. Before we could fire at them, two ships uncloaked in front of us.

**-x-x-x-**

"Code one," Ghost shouted when he received the message from Lilith's bodyguards. The young scout started the engines to the Explorer he was in and waited for the rest of his team to join him inside. It took less than ten seconds for all the members of his team to rush inside.

The squad's pilot dashed into the pilot seat and took off.

Besides their Explorer, two more Explorers took off. One of them headed towards the Stargate and the other followed their ship towards the Pyramid.

Ghost hoped that the reinforcements would arrive in time. Lilith saved him and his sister. She gave him a purpose and a future for him and his sister. He now had a home and he would be dammed if he would let someone like Bastet and her ilk to take all that from him. Lilith was different from the rest of the Goa'uld. He knew their type. They were just like some of the people back on his former home in London. Egotistical little creatures that would never care for the suffering they brought to the world. The former thief had worked for people like them. He'd seen the darkness in their hearts. His Lady was different. He was given a new life. Sure, he understood that she did not do it only out of the goodness of her heart. Honestly, he would have been wary if that were so.

He hated those people that pretended to be nice. He remembered how in London, people would pretend to be saints in public. He despised that world; the lies of those who ruled. They pretended to be so kind and pious when they were actually evil to their core. True, some were actually nice enough, but he still remembered how he ended up on the streets.

That day when that ... man of God tried to use his sister. He'd stopped him and ran away. He soon learned that the streets of London were even more dangerous than the place he fled from. Still, he persevered. He was able to steal enough to feed himself and his sister. But then, she caught a sickness.

He was lucky that he tried to sneak in Elise's house. They saved his sister. They gave them a home. She was happy now. She was a healer and he was a Squad Leader despite his youth.

He would save the one who made all that possible.

Now that he had a good enough understanding of the Galaxy's history, he despised those like the Tok'ra. Their words were sweet. They were always happy to help with a rebellion or help to damage a System Lord. But despite their stated goal to defeat the Goa'uld, the ones that were usually their victims were humans and Jaffa. Killing one Goa'uld or breaking his power would never lead to their defeat for there would always be more Goa'uld to take their place.

In time, he was sure that Lilith would change all that. She would create a great empire. An empire that would one day be as strong as the combined might of the System Lords. But an empire needed its Empress.

"This is Squad Three," said a voice over the comm.

"Report!" Ghost ordered.

"Mission accomplished! Estimated time for reinforcements: sixty-five seconds."

"Acknowledged."

The two cloaked Explorers were soon joined by twenty uncloaked Daggers that arrived from Eratna. They flew past them just as they arrived to the Pyramid where their Lady was trying to escape from.

Bolts of plasma targeted Bastet's Staff Cannons. Unmanned and surprised by the unexpected attack, they were quickly destroyed. Then, the Daggers targeted the remaining enemy forces. They fought back, but the enemy Jaffa were unable to even hit the agile crafts.

The two Explorers landed in front of Lilith and uncloaked. Ghost and his squad covered her until she and her bodyguards, (one of which was carried on her shoulders,) were onboard, then, they blasted off towards the Stargate.

The faster Daggers moved away from the pyramid, cloaked and escorted them towards the Stargate.

Lilith placed the bodyguard she carried on the floor and began to take off the battered suit.

She tried to use her healing device to heal the heavy injuries.

She failed.

Ghost shook his head in sadness. The injuries were too grave. The fallen bodyguard's left side was only moderately damaged, but her left shoulder was almost blown away by a staff blast that punched through her suit. Her left knee was in the same situation. These were not critical injuries, but the rest were. Ghost could see that the Jaffa's left lung was completely destroyed. That amount of damage must have reached the heart and the right lung. But this was not the last of the damage. Her pouch was completely destroyed. There was more than one blast that must have hit it. The enemy Jaffa must have targeted that particular spot on purpose. The damage was so great that it had reached even the spinal column.

Even a sarcophagus had limits and the bodyguard had gone over it. If only it hadn't damaged the pouch and the symbiote, she might have lived. A Goa'uld symbiote and a sarcophagus could heal almost anything, but without the symbiote, the effectiveness of the sarcophagus was greatly diminished. Ghost doubted she could be saved.

**-x-x-x-**

As soon as we arrived on Eratna and landed, I took Zyr'na's body to the infirmary.

Instead of heading towards one of the old Sarcophaguses, I went towards the new one. It had not been fully tested, but it was the only chance to save Zyr'na. After I took off her the remains of her clothes, I put her inside the Sarcophagus and closed it.

I programmed it with the new treatment for Jaffa.

"Will she ... recover?" Zar'na asked.

"I believe she will," I answered. I believe that the new treatment has a high chance to completely heal her."

"Then it is possible she will ..." The Jaffa paused to remove her mask. She gazed at the Sarcophagus with a pained expression on her face.

"If it fails, I'll put her in stasis and we'll have to wait until we are advanced enough to revive her."

The Jaffa nodded sadly.

"We should first wait to see if it works before thinking of the worst case scenario."

Zar'na kneeled in front of me. "Thank you, Lady," she whispered. "When you told me to take point... I thought I lost her."

I lifted her chin and brushed her tears away. "You and your sister have been my constant companions for years. Along with Erika, Kyra and Eerie, you are my family. I will always do my best to protect you."

**-x-x-x-**

"Lilith escaped," Bastet's first prime said to his god. The man was kneeling in front of her, hoping to survive the next few moments. Failing that, he hoped that his death would be swift.

With a snarl of rage, the System Lord used her hand device on the Jaffa that failed her. A ribbon of energy connected her hand device to the Jaffa's head. She took little time to destroy the Jaffa's mind.

When he fell, his brain liquefied by Bastet's rage, Janak took a fearful step back.

"Janak," she said calmly.

"My Lady Bastet."

"Prepare the fleet." She calmly glanced at the Jaffa she just killed. "And I will need a new first prime."

**-x-x-x-**

A day later, the treatment was over. The sarcophagus opened to reveal Zyr'na's body immersed in a viscous liquid. It was formed of nutrients, med-bots and Goa'uld symbiote cells, (among other things,) that allowed her to survive. The liquid drained and Zyr'na sat up. She opened her mouth to speak when she saw me and her sister, but was forced to cough out the liquid in her lungs.

I helped her naked form down, and gazed at her unblemished skin. I touched her abdomen, glad that she no longer had the ugly x-shaped pouch that housed a Goa'uld symbiote.

Both twins stared at Zyr'na's abdomen in wonder.

"My pouch..."

"You no longer need it," I said.

"The new treatment?" she asked.

"Yes. Now that we are at war with Bastet, we have no more reason for Goa'uld symbiotes and the pouch to house them. You now have the new symbiote cells and med-bots to heal you."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note**: I hurried to write this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Published: January 1, 2010.

-voider-


	19. Chapter 19 Flagship part 1

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 19.**

**Flagship.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1773 AD, Eratna**.

It took months for Bastet's powerful fleet to be ready. The System Lord doubted that she would need such firepower against Lilith, but after Lilith's escape, a show of force was needed.

By itself, her Flagship alone could easily defeat any defenses Lilith had. It not only outmassed a normal Goa'uld mothership by a factor of forty to one, but it was also far more technologically advanced than the standard Ha'tak.

The eighteen Ha'taks and twenty-five bombers that accompanied it, were also quite a powerful fleet. Bastet doubted that they were needed, or that her own flagship was needed to deal with Lilith. After all, to her knowledge, Lilith only had three motherships. She might have built one or two more and even received some reinforcements from whatever allies she had, but she doubted her defenses could handle half of her escorts, let alone her whole fleet. However, she needed to test her Flagship in combat and Eratna was the perfect target.

"We are about to exit hyperspace, my Lady," her first prime said.

"Good."

"Exiting hyperspace..." The Flagship shuddered. "Now."

The Flagship appeared surrounded by her fleet in the Eratan system.

"My Lady," the first prime said in a worried tone. "The scanners detect many energy sources over Eratna."

"What?" Bastet rose to her feet. "Show me!" she ordered. The System Lord clenched her teeth in fury at the hologram that showed Lilith's defenses. She knew that Lilith was an above average technician, but she had never thought that she could do more than slightly thinker. Or perhaps this was something from that Trade World.

"Get me Marduk!"

She had ordered her Lieutenants to accompany her. All of her four lieutenants brought two of their motherships with them.

As soon as the communication with the Goa'uld was opened, she promptly asked, "What do you know about this?"

"I did not know she had developed to this level," Marduk replied. "And I do not recognize these new ships. I did not know of their existence. However, I am quite sure that they are powerful. If there is one thing Lilith prefers, it's qualitative superiority."

"That might have been so if I wasn't here on the Flagship."

**-x-x-x-**

Eerie was sitting on the command throne of her Flagship. The ship was twice the size of a standard Ha'tak. Around it, there were four standard sized motherships. Three of them were the motherships captured when Eratna was conquered. The fourth was one of the two motherships that were build.

There was a third one under construction, but it was only half finished. It might have been finished if Lilith really wanted to, but she had chosen to concentrate on finishing the Fortresses under construction.

In front of the Eratan fleet, eight Fortresses were positioned in a wall formation. Around the fleet and the Fortresses were ten thousand defense satellites. Ten thousand more satellites were in front of the Fortresses.

That left only a few thousand defense satellites to cover Eratna.

Eerie stared at the image of Bastet's fleet. That Flagship alone is enough to destroy us, she thought. And the rest of the fleet is dangerous as well. Four of those motherships belong to Bastet's Lieutenants. They will be stronger than average. If our plan works, the Flagship will be dealt with, leaving only eighteen Ha'taks..

"Commander, we are being hailed," the bridge communication officer said.

"Put them on," Eerie said.

When the image of the System Lord appeared, Eerie simply stared stonily at it.

"Where is Lilith?" the image of the System Lord growled.

"Lady Lilith is on the planet. I am Eerie - Commander of the Eratan Fleet."

"Jaffa. As your God, I order you to surrender your forces."

"Bastet," Eerie said calmly. "You have entered Eratan space. You will retreat, or we will be forced to fire on your vessel."

"My forces are five times stronger than yours, Jaffa. Surrender, and I may lessen your punishment."

"Your arrogance will be your undoing. It would be wise to retreat."

"I think not," Bastet smiled maliciously. "After I deal with your pesky fleet, we'll have a proper talk."

Bastet disappeared from the screen.

"Enemy fleet is advancing."

"All forces. Execute Alpha-one."

**-x-x-x-**

Bastet's Flagship had just started to advance when it shuddered.

"What was that?" Bastet asked.

"My Lady, the hyperdrive is down," Bastet's first prime said.

The System Lord stared at one of the Goa'uld's on the bridge. "Durak," Bastet snarled at her Goa'uld scientist, "you assured me that the ship is in perfect shape."

"It is!" The man moved to a console. It only took a few seconds for the scientist to discover the problem. "Lady Bastet. It isn't the hyperdrive that failed. The naqahdah generator that was the main power provider for the hyperdrive was destroyed. So were all the energy conduits from the other generators and the control crystals."

"I thought that there were multiple redundancy systems."

"Yes. The only way for all of them to fail, is sabotage."

"Search the ship for intruders!" Bastet ordered her new First Prime.

The Jaffa bowed and left the pel'tak.

Bastet's eyes narrowed at her scientist. "How long will it take to repair it?"

"The other naqahdah generators are working, but the energy conduits to the hyperdrive are damaged. We'll have to manually pull out the damaged parts and replace them."

"How long?" Bastet repeated.

"The damage is extensive. If the ship suffers no further damage, three hours."

"I see," Bastet glared at the approaching Eratan fleet. "Then it would be..."

Bastet was interrupted by another shudder.

"Primary generator, failed!" the scientist said in alarm. "Sublight engines failed!"

The scientist relaxed slightly after a few seconds. The flagship had multiple redundancy systems. Even with the main power generator offline, the ship was still battle-worthy. And the engines failed when the Flagship's speed was low enough. Had the sublight engines failed when it had a high speed and it was accelerating towards the planet, it could have been a disaster. Without engines to decelerate, it would have crashed into the planet.

The Goa'uld relaxed, thinking that the worst was over, when the ship gave another shudder - this one worse enough to make him stumble. The lights flickered, and then they failed.

When he got up a few seconds later, the lights came on, on auxiliary power.

"All secondary and tertiary power generators are down! Their control crystals are all destroyed. Energy conduits are heavily damaged. Shield generators, down! We lost power to the weapons. Sensors and communications are down."

"How long to fix the hyperdrive now?"

"Only the generator that powered the hyperdrive was destroyed. The rest of the generators are not damaged, but all of their control crystals must be replaced. There is heavy damage on all energy conduits. If no more acts of sabotage happen, it will take at least ten hours to bring back the hyperdrive."

Bastet stared at the enemy fleet. "We don't have that much time."

The System Lord stood up and headed toward the exit. Durak moved to follow her. "I am ringing on another ship," Bastet said. "Durak..."

"Yes?"

"Fix the ship!"

"As you command."

The Goa'uld stared at the System Lord's back, wondering if he'd survive the day. Hopefully, Bastet should be able to deal with Lilith's ships. And the twenty-five thousand Jaffa on the mothership would be able to find the saboteurs before they damaged the Flagship again.

Bastet still had eighteen motherships to Lilith's five. Those smaller pyramidal ships were half the size of a Ha'tak. The small defense satellites were numerous, but from the scans he got on them, they were nothing more than cannon fodder. Even in their huge numbers, they were unlikely to significantly damage a Ha'tak.

The Goa'uld smiled. The enemy must think that his ship was neutralized. They would pay for that assumption.

**-x-x-x-**

"Commander, enemy Flagship stopped accelerating. Power output decreased."

"Good," Eerie nodded. The scouts sent to infiltrate Bastet's flagship had done their job at least partially. They had thought about simply blowing it up, but carrying sufficient explosive to destroy something as huge as Bastet's Flagship was practically impossible. Sure, they might have been able to use a few naquadria bombs, but they might have been discovered. The flagship's sensors were very good and something like a very powerful bomb had too much of a chance of discovery. Instead, the scouts used small, stealthy bombs.

Again, they could have used it to completely destroy the Flagship by destroying critical systems at a critical time. Destroying the engines when the Flagship was moving towards Eratna would have assured its destruction.

Unfortunately, something the size of a Flagship crashing in the planet would have rendered Eratna uninhabitable.

"Enemy Flagship's power output down!" the Sensors officer announced. "Power output, minimal. The ship is on auxiliary power. Shields are down."

This was better. If they were lucky, they might even get a new Flagship out of this. All of her naqahdah generators were down, so Bastet would not be able to self-destruct it even if she wanted to.

"All forces, Alpha two." Hopefully, Kyra's forces would be able to deal with the Flagship's Jaffa. Intelligence reports had the number of Jaffa on Bastet's Flagship anywhere between twenty thousands to thirty thousands.

**-x-x-x-**

On Eratna, the Stargate activated. Jaffa bearing Bastet's mark began to pour through the Stargate.

Behind defensive works, Eratan soldiers opened fire on the invaders before they even made a few steps.

**-x-x-x-**

"There is a ring transport from the Flagship to one of the Ha'taks."

"Good," Eerie nodded in satisfaction. That must be Bastet. "Designate the Ha'tak as B-one."

"Enemy fleet stopped."

Time passed and the Eratan fleet approached Bastet's fleet.

"Enemy vessels launching death Gliders."

It was not only the Ha'taks that launched them. The Flagship did it too.

Bastet's death gliders moved in front of the ship and accelerated. There were over 2600 of them. Behind them followed twenty-five bombers.

"Launch gliders," Eerie ordered. "They are to keep their position around the Ha'taks. First and second wave of defense satellites is to charge enemy fighters. Formation cube-one."

Five thousand defense satellites increased their speed and formed into a cubic formation.

The two swarms met in front of their fleets and opened fire.

The Goa'uld death gliders were faster and they had Jaffa - unpredictable pilots.

The Eratan defense satellites were slower, sluggish and mechanical in their attacks. But their weapons were more powerful than the death gliders'; (not that there was that much need of firepower to destroy a death glider.) However, they had shields as strong as an Eratan glider.

The first shots were the most devastating. Bastet's death gliders flew in a spear formation and punched through the cubic formation of defense satellites.

The satellites only reaction was to try to move away from the path of the fighters. The first shots that hit the Eratan satellites were resisted by shields.

Eerie could imagine the enemy pilots' consternation. They should be happy that they are fighting against satellites and not against Eratan gliders.

Still, Jaffa are fearless warriors. They kept flying towards the Eratan fleet. Their bravery gave birth to victory as the defense satellites' shields of a dozen satellites finally failed.

It was at this time - when over half the death gliders were inside the cube that Eerie finally reacted. "C-one!" she ordered.

Immediately, the inert cube changed into a swarm. The defense satellites swerved and rotated, pointing their weapons at the enemy fighters. The satellites had been in continuous communications with one another, shifting and refining targeting data. It took them a second to receive the order to engage and fire as one.

435 death gliders were too surprised and were destroyed outright, another 127 were crippled, 73 were damaged. The rest managed to evade the first salvo.

The defense satellites fired again. This time, only 54 death gliders were destroyed. The defense satellites surged forwards, trying to envelop the enemy formation and firing salvo after salvo.

The death glider formation lost cohesion as they tried to retreat. This meant that the defense satellites' shields were holding against the uncoordinated enemy attack. Here and there though, death gliders formed into wings that targeted the same target.

Unfortunately for Bastet's fighters, by the time they got out of the Eratan cube formation, they had lost a third of their numbers while less than two percent of the defense satellites were destroyed.

The enemy death gliders were now out of the range of the defense satellites which didn't have the speed to hunt them down.

The defense satellites moved forward, ahead of the Eratan fleet.

Then, all enemy death gliders formed into wings of five. Using their superior speed and maneuverability, they began to raid the edge of the cube.

The kill rate changed to one to one. Since the cube outnumbered the death gliders, it was a good enough exchange rate for Eerie.

"The cube is about to enter in the weapon's range of enemy motherships."

"Target B-one." The other ships will be forced to protect her.

All the cubes headed towards the center of the enemy wall - the Ha'tak Bastet ringed to. They opened fire and started to surround the ship. The Ha'tak retreated behind the wall, and in front of the massive Flagship while the rest of the Ha'taks started to surround Bastet's mothership.

The Ha'taks' plasma cannons joined that of the death gliders and the defense satellites began to die by the dozens.

Then, two more waves of defense satellites joined the fray.

And then, the Eratan fleet and Bastet's fleet were in weapons range of each other.

As one, the eight Fortresses moved to make a whole in their center for the Eratan motherships, forming a half-sphere.

"Target the two closest motherships," Eerie ordered.

Plasma blasts from motherships and Fortresses slammed in the shields of the two closest Goa'uld motherships while the rest of the defense satellites spread into the enemy fleet.

"Eratan gliders, take care of the enemy fighters and bombers," Eerie ordered.

Immediately, six hundred Eratan gliders surged forwards to hunt Bastet's fighters, allowing the slower defense satellites to fire at the Goa'uld motherships.

**-x-x-x-**

Bastet's eyes widened as two of her Ha'taks were destroyed by the enemy ships.

It's too soon, she realized. Despite being half the size of a Ha'tak, Lilith's Fortresses were as strong as a Ha'taks. The four normal Ha'tak were twice as strong as a Ha'tak and the big mothership was three or four times as strong. That was equivalent to twenty Ha'taks. And those swarms of weapon satellites were worth a few motherships on their own.

If only her Flagship was functional, she would have had no problem with Lilith's forces. But like this, she was outgunned.

Four of her Ha'taks belonged directly to her Lieutenants and they were their Flagships. True, they were only standard Ha'taks that were upgraded slightly, but they were all stronger than the Ha'tak she was on.

Also, they also had four more Ha'taks. That meant that with the destruction of two of her own Ha'taks, she only had eight Ha'taks she could fully trust.

**-x-x-x-**

As soon as two of Bastet's ships exploded, the enemy started to ignore the swarm of defense satellites and targeted the Fortresses and her motherships.

Eerie smiled as the Enemy was spreading their fire all over her ships while her own motherships and Fortresses were concentrating on a single ship.

As soon as another Goa'uld mothership's shields were half down, the enemy fleet shifted tactics and targeted one of her own motherships and a Fortress.

**-x-x-x-**

Bastet watched as yet another of her motherships exploded, leaving her fleet fifteen strong. By this time, all of her bombers were destroyed in their attack against the enemy capital ships. They had only managed a single attack against them before they went down under the fire of enemy death gliders.

One more mothership lost shields.

The duel between her and Lilith's manned fighters was not going well. She had under a third of her original strength in fighters. Despite their numerical inferiority, Lilith barely lost two dozen of her gliders.

**-x-x-x-**

"One of our Fortresses is about to lose its shields."

"Ram it," Eerie ordered.

The Flagships were unmanned, so there was no reason to waste a perfectly good occasion.

**-x-x-x-**

Bastet saw one of the enemy ships ram one of her motherships, leaving her with fourteen Ha'taks.

The enemy ship's shields had failed and the shields of her own Ha'tak were already down to less than forty percents. Her ships fired at the dieing Fortress, but it was not enough to stop it before it reached its target. Both ships exploded.

**-x-x-x-**

"Ha'tak three is about to lose its shields."

"Order it to withdraw!" Eerie commanded.

**-x-x-x-**

Bastet snarled in rage as one of Lilith's Ha'tak's retreated from battle. It was about to lose its shields, but instead, it retreated.

Lilith lost only one disposable ship, a few thousand of her satellites and a few dozen death gliders.

She was losing.

She had to retreat.

**-x-x-x-**

"Commander, enemy fleet is retreating."

"Let's hurry them along."

The Eratan fleet followed Bastet's fleet as it retreated.

As the enemy fleet passed the Flagship, Eerie saw that seven ring transports were activating and matter stream moved from it to the retreating fleet.

"Any sigh of self-destruct?" Eerie asked.

"No, commander."

Eerie relaxed. Without any power generator working, she doubted they could self-destruct, but better safe than sorry.

As the Eratan fleet approached the huge, defenseless Flagship, she heard her Sensors Officer shout, "Enemy Flagship is charging weapons."

"Evasive actions!"

The engines of the Eratan Ha'taks strained as they swerved away from the Flagship.

The Flagship's side where the Eratan fleet was moving fired once at one of her Ha'taks. The ship change direction, trying to hide behind a fortress.

The Flagship fired a second time and the Eratan Ha'tak almost lost its shields.

When the third salvo came, half the Ha'tak was covered by a Fortress. The other half of the ship was completely crippled.

Eerie breathed a sigh of relief when the Flagship fell quiet.

She realized what happened. The capacitors that provided power for the Flagship's weapons were full when it lost its power generators. Fortunately, they were now emptied, or at least those that were on the side that had the Fleet.

The other side of the Flagship probably had enough power for three salvos as well.

"Enemy ships are charging weapons."

Instead of firing at her ships, Bastet fired at her own Flagship. She was probably displeased that she had to leave it behind.

"Put us between Bastet and the Flagship," Eerie ordered. "Position the Fortresses between the Ha'taks and the other side of the Flagship."

When the Eratan fleet was between the Flagship and Bastet's fleet, the Flagship opened fire at the only targets it could hit - the Fortresses.

Fortunately, it had a smaller arc of fire than the one that crippled the Ha'tak and the two Fortresses that were targeted were able to resist the attack.

Bastet's fleet stopped firing, took the last remnants of their fighters, and then disappeared into hyperspace.

"Tell Kyra that she can begin sending her troops on the Flagship," Eerie ordered. "Then move us to the crippled mothership and begin rescue operations."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's notes**: How was the battle?

It's almost three AM now... and I'm falling asleep... so I'm going to post this now...

About the sarcophagus in chapter 18. It was a normal one, but combined with nanotech medbots and Goa'uld symbiote cells, the result is quite a bit better than the healing of a Goa'uld in a sarcophagus. I have a plan for a better sarcophagus, that is ... without the crazy side effects... but that's in the future. You can imagine what something like this would mean to not only the Tok'ra, but the Goa'uld as well. Lilith may, or may not sell/share/give the technology away.

Published: January 15, 2010.

-voider-


	20. Chapter 20 Flagship part 2

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 20.**

**Flagship part 2.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1773 AD, Eratna**.

Marduk stared at Lilith's fleet in disbelief. Despite their smaller numbers, they managed to defeat them with relative ease. True, she somehow sabotaged Bastet's Flagship. Had she not, the battle would have ended differently.

He was quite confident that Lilith had planned for both cases. Knowing her, she had a plan for both cases and a few he hadn't even begun to contemplate.

Yes, Lilith was always a little odd, the Goa'uld thought. Or maybe it is her youth. Or perhaps it is her strange aversion towards using the sarcophaguses.

He remembered how the Goa'uld society was before its discovery. The Tok'ra believed that its use destroyed one's soul. Could it be that she is a Tok'ra? He doubted it. He had talked of them with Lilith and he was certain that her dislike for them was genuine.

It wasn't due to their war against the Goa'uld, but because of the way they fought that war.

She found them illogical! No. She was no Tok'ra. Besides, he was the one who witnessed her birth. She was Goa'uld.

But still, she could have joined them. After all, not all Tok'ra were born of Egeria. Before the Sarcophagus became common, there were quite a few Goa'uld that joined them.

He knew that heavy use of a sarcophagus was addictive. Furthermore, it invariably led to mental deterioration. It was not something that happened overnight as with humans. In only a few weeks, some humans could turn into complete psychopaths. A Jaffa would take a few months. The Goa'uld were mentally superior. Even after centuries of frequent use, the Goa'uld were fairly stable.

But still, the sarcophagus never helped one's mental sanity.

He found it mildly disturbing that before the development of the sarcophagus, Goa'uld joined the Tok'ra, but after its development and wide distribution, no more Goa'uld joined their ranks.

That would mean that saner Goa'uld had a greater chance of entering the Tok'ra than the ones that were somewhat unstable from frequent use of sarcophagus.

Marduk shook the ridiculous thought and turned his attention back to the current situation. No, Lilith was no Tok'ra.

But then, who were her allies? Who were the Traders that helped her.

Should he try to ally himself with this new power? He had been a good Lord to Lilith and he doubted she would hold a grudge for his participation in this failed attack.

From the scans he got over the system, he was almost certain that he'd have no chance of finding that out.

It appeared that Lilith and her allies loved their privacy.

While Bastet had concentrated over the new ships and the swarm of small unmanned fighters, Marduk found interest in something else. The system was filled by hundreds of sensor platforms. It was obvious that she had something to hide.

He doubted he would have anything of worth they would want. They were strong enough that the few motherships he had, would do little to help them in any confrontation. They had just defeated an entire fleet with negligible losses to their own forces. By the time Bastet recovers, Lilith will be invulnerable from her. And if she manages to salvage the Flagship...

He needed more information.

If he could discover that something, he'd be in a much better position. He could use that information against Lilith or against Bastet.

"Have the two scout-ships remain behind," Marduk told his first prime.

"My Lord?" the Jaffa asked.

"I want them to cloak and observe as much as they can." The Goa'uld paused for a moment of thought. "One of them must return with the information they gathered."

"Yes, my Lord!"

The hundreds of sensors would probably find them even with their cloak, but with a bit of luck, he'd get the information he needed.

Marduk's attention was brought to the ship's display.

The powerless Flagship had somehow fired its weapons. The Flagship's weapon capacitors were full and one of Lilith's pursuing ships was crippled. Half of the ship was left unscathed, protected by the shields of a smaller pyramidal ship while the other half had its armor turned to slag by the powerful weapons of the Flagship.

The enemy fleet ignored the hit and continued in their pursuit.

When Bastet started to fire at her crippled Flagship, to deny its use by Lilith, the enemy fleet protected it with its shields.

The Flagship fired again, draining a considerable amount from the shields of two of Lilith's smaller capital ships.

If Bastet wanted to win anything here, she should turn back and attack now. If she did, Lilith's fleet would be forced to defend the Flagship. The flagship still hadn't fired with over thirty percent of it's weapons.

Bastet would probably still lose, but they'd be able to cripple or destroy Bastet's massive Flagship and cripple the rest of Lilith's fleet.

But Bastet chose to continue her retreat.

Marduk couldn't help himself and smiled in understanding. If she were to choose to stay and fight, Bastet would lose more than a flagship. She'd risk betrayal.

She had taken her Lieutenants with her to prove her might. But now, only half the ships in the remaining fleet belonged to her. If anyone chose to betray her, she'd certainly lose.

Right now, anyone and everyone might choose to betray Bastet.

Each of her Lieutenants, (himself included,) would have a lot to win if they disposed of Bastet.

The last thing he saw before entering hyperspace was the sight of Lilith's fleet that defended Bastet's Flagship.

**-x-x-x-**

Ghost and his team were hidden in a large unused room that was filled with supplies.

They had moved the boxes around to serve as defensive works. If worst came to worst, they would use the duct system to escape.

He hopped that reinforcements would come soon to relieve his team and the other two teams that were tasked with sabotaging the Flagship before they were found out. He'd hate to play a game of hide and seek with the 25000 Jaffa on the Flagship.

Ghost heard a sound and then, a voice came over the ship's internal communications.

After the announcement, his teammates looked at each other in consternation.

"This is bad," Aram - his newest teammate said.

"Tanya?" Ghost asked. "How much time do we have?"

The Jaffa female shrugged. "If they'd thrown poison, we'd have been fine. The suits are capable enough at filtering it. But without air, the suit doesn't have anything to filter. It can store a limited amount of air and recycle what we breathe out. A normal Jaffa could survive over an hour if in a deep state of kel'no'reem. A normal human could survive half an hour in a relaxed state. Since we are well trained, we could stretch that a bit."

"That's not enough," Ghost shook his head. "We just destroyed the ship's power supply. The ship is working on auxiliary power. It will take too long for our people to defeat the opposition, and restore power. Even if the fleet battle is over in a minimal time, we won't be able to survive long enough."

The saboteurs froze as the room they were in begun to decompress.

"In five minutes, only the inner core of the ship will have air."

"And that's where all the enemies will be," Aram sighed. "I knew it was a bad idea joining the scouts." The scout glanced around and patted the wall he was leaning against with a small smile. "Still, we did a pretty good job. Thirty-six people managed to sabotage a ship like this."

"If we're at death's door, I say we should go with a bang," Ghost grinned.

His squad grinned with him and prepared their weapons.

"Should we call the others?" Tanya asked?

"Sure," Ghost nodded. "It's not like the enemy will be able to do anything even if they get our location." Ghost opened a comm link to the two other squads. "This is Ghost. One and Three, I don't think we'll be able to keep our breath long enough. We're going to go where the air is. You coming with us?"

"Ghost, you're insane," the answer came back.

"Is that a yes?"

"I'd say we go for the rings," a second voice said.

"Can't. The scientists made sure they are inoperable. And even if they were, we wouldn't have anywhere to go."

"Gliders?" The second voice asked.

"All gone," the first voice answered.

"Escape pods?" the second voice asked.

"Nope," the first voice said cheerfully.

"I hate you," the second voice said dully.

"So, that's a yes?" Ghost asked.

"Yes, we'll join your party," the first voice said.

"Same here," the second voice agreed.

**-x-x-x-**

"Commander, we are cleared to board the Flagship."

"Good," Kyra said. "Send the Drones," she ordered.

The tech tried to activate the ring platform.

"What is it?" Kyra asked.

"The ring platforms aren't working. They must be disabled."

"I want the bombers on Eratna here. We'll need their rings."

Her communication officer hurried to convey her order.

Eerie's image appeared on her screen. "Problems?" she asked.

"The Flagship's rings are disabled. I called for the bombers on Eratna. We'll use those."

"I see. You'll have to hurry. There was a problem. The Flagship started to lose atmosphere."

"Was it us?" Kyra asked.

"No. I got a message from the scouts that sabotaged the Flagship. They are all in the outer areas of the ship and the only supply of air is toward the center of the Flagship."

"I see. Can they fix a ring transporter?"

"No."

"Then we're not going to get there in time," Kyra sighed. "What are they planning to do?"

"Hit and run."

"I see."

Eerie jerked at something off the screen.

"What is it?" Kyra asked.

"There was a large explosion on the Flagship. It look like one of the naqahdah generators exploded."

"What's the damage?"

"A normal mothership would have been severely damaged," Eerie shrugged. "The Flagship... it's just a scratch. A really big scratch, but still a scratch."

"Good. Do you think we'll have any more explosions?"

"Unlikely. It's probably what one of the Goa'uld did on his way off the ship. He must have had a few spares for the control crystals."

"Let's hope you're right. I'd like our Lady's new ship not be damaged too much. After all, Bastet went through a lot of her resources to provide her with such a gift."

**-x-x-x-**

When the Eratan bombers arrived, they entered one of the Flagship's large cargo bays. Hundreds of Eratan soldiers, human and Jaffa begun to ring on the Flagship. Along with them, techs came to fix the ship and bring life support back on line.

**-x-x-x-**

I smiled as Kyra, Eerie and Erika entered the briefing room. Erika took a seat between me and Zyr'na, while Kyra and Erika took the next seats.

"Well?" I asked.

There were looks exchanged between the three newcomers and Eerie shrugged. "It could have been better, but it could have been much worse. We only lost one of our Fortresses. One of the mothership is crippled and we lost thirty percent of its crew. We lost 23 gliders and a little over 7000 defense satellites. Bastet lost her Flagship, five motherships, and all of her death gliders and bombers."

"On my side," Kyra continued, "our losses were a bit higher. Bastet used the gate to send a few thousand Jaffa through. It wasn't much of a battle. It was more of a slaughter and none of our people was lost. We did lose a lot of people on the crippled mothership, though. There were 247 deaths. We're expecting to be able to revive less than fifty of them. On the Flagship, we sent five thousand soldiers and techs. We had 52 casualties. Most of them are expected to be revived without problems. We had a few hundred injuries, but that isn't that much of a problem with our current medical tech. From the enemy Jaffa, we only had to kill four thousand of them before they surrendered. It looks like what the scouts did to them scared them a little."

"And the scouts?" I asked.

"Well, by the time we got to them, there were only five of them alive. We've recovered the bodies of the others. They'd had a hard time. Only a third of them are revivable. They had to break into an area where there was oxygen, wait for the suits to fill themselves, and then, retreat. They had to do this a few times, and each time, they had to go through hundreds of enemy Jaffa. It looks like just by themselves, they killed or injured over nine hundred enemy Jaffa."

"We'll have to find a way for air (or the lack of air) to not be a problem," Erika said.

Kyra nodded. "That would be helpful."

"The Flagship is somewhat of a good news, bad news," Erika said. "The scouts destroyed on of the naqahdah generators. They also destroyed a lot of power conduits. Most of the ship's control crystals have to be replaced. We also have to repair the battle damage that resulted from the fight between our soldiers and the scouts and the enemy Jaffa. All of this was expected, but when Bastet's technicians fled, they destroyed the rings and they managed to activate one of the power generators. It will take us a few months to fix the damage."

"Until here, it wasn't something that was completely unexpected," Eerie said. "There was one thing that happened. As you know, thanks to our long-range sensors, we knew well before that we were under attack. So, we powered down our orbital industry to hide it from the attack. After the battle, our orbital refineries and mines came back on-line. An hour ago, our sensor net found two stealth ships in the system. It looks like during the battle, one of the enemy motherships launched them. There is a high chance that the ship that launched belonged to Marduk. We only managed to destroy one of them. The other entered hyperspace after it got a good look at our orbital infrastructure."

"Well," I shrugged, "It can't be helped. I knew that sooner or later, there will be suspicions. Fortunately for us, after we fix the Flagship, Bastet will not be in any position to threaten us. She'd have to take all of her ships and leave her worlds undefended if she wanted to ensure her victory. And if she were to do that, the other System Lords will attack her. I doubt she'll be able to convince a few System Lords to team up against us, so I doubt she'll be any trouble for the next few decades. By the time she recovers or convinces someone to help her, it will be too late."

"Shouldn't we attack?" Kyra asked. "Let's kill her. We could conquer her territory or just make a deal with another Goa'uld to take her place."

"That would mean war," I shook my head. "I do not want that. I do not want to alarm anyone with our power. And an alive Bastet has its uses. She'll want to harm us. Anyone else who wants the same thing will try to enlist her help. Anyone who in interested in us will go to Bastet. And if I were to kill her but not take her territory and place as a System Lord, the Goa'uld would grow paranoid of my motives."

"Then lets take it," Kyra said.

"If I do, then what?" I sighed. "Will Bastet's Jaffa serve me willingly? Will I be their ruler as I am your ruler, or will I be their System Lord?"

"Do the same thing you did here," Kyra said. "Jaffa an human alike serve you as our empress, not our god. They accept our new culture."

"That would not work," I said. "Integrating newcomers into Eratan culture is easy because there are more Eratans than newcomers. The newcommers are less advanced. And most important, they are torn from their former life. But if we were to add a few millions of humans and Jaffa that were not torn from their way of life, then their cultures would overwhelm us. Or our culture would not be able to overwhelm theirs. Our current unity is our strength. Taking in more than we can control and educate would destroy us."

**-x-x-x-**

Published February 28, 2010;

-voider-


	21. Chapter 21 ELF

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 21.**

**ELF.**

**-x-x-x-**

**1781 AD, Planet P3301E(Stone Eye) - Main Eratan Exploration Outpost.**

Erika stepped through the Stargate and arrived in a large underground cavern. Accompanied by six squads of her mother's imperial guards, the princess glanced at the one commanding them - Zyr'na - one of her mothers personal bodyguards. "Why is it that you're here, and not on Eratna, with mother?" she asked.

"My sister can guard her well enough in my absence."

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it."

Zyr'na raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yes. I doubt I'll need all this security here. After all, it's a heavily fortified outpost."

"But this isn't all the security I brought."

Erika thought for a moment at the answer. Her mother, like any Goa'uld, was really paranoid. But unlike most Goa'uld, she was actually smart (and sane,) enough to make all sort of back-up plans that backed the back-up plans. "Please tell me we don't have half the fleet in orbit."

"We do not," the commander replied. "However, two days ago, we reinforced the outpost."

"I see," Erika sighed. "I know I am only the researcher here, but is there really such a great need for all this? After all, it's only one visitor. The outpost is already well defended. It's not like he can do that much harm."

Zyr'na pondered her princess' words for a moment before answering. "Princess, do you remember when you found a way to destroy a sun by using a stargate with a disabled dialing protocol?"

Erika glanced cautiously at the Jaffa, hoping that she wasn't thinking of ending all possible dangers to her life by destroying all the suns that had planets that hosted those dangers. Her mother had been adamant in her refusal. That would never be done unless they had no other choice. "Yes..."

"You are a far more dangerous person than I am. Even if this visitor appears to be harmless, we can not afford to be overconfident. Think of what can be done to take down an entire civilization from the inside. Genocide, like what might have happened with the plague... or like what we could do if we really wanted."

"You are right," Erika sighed. "But still, was it really necessary for you to come here personally? I thought you were busy with those shock troops you and Zar'na are drooling over."

The commander touched the tattoo on her forehead and gave Erika one of her rare smiles. "I am never busy when it comes to you. Besides," the Jaffa shrugged, "there's that new "Dark Shroud" they're developing here."

"Oooah!" Erika nodded sagely. The device was a type of power generator, shield hybrid. "It's still in testing, but I think you'll be impressed."

**-x-x-x-**

Two hours later, after she had a meeting with Ka'na - the Outpost's commander, the two were in the control room when a newcomer made his way towards them.

Ka'na nodded politely. "Commander Ghost."

"Commander Ka'na," the man nodded back, before bowing absentmindedly to Erika. "Princess." The man who was now the commander to the "Specters" glanced at one of the monitors that showed the inactive Stargate.

"Is there a problem?" Erika asked. Had she not known better, she'd have thought that Ghost was anxious about something.

Ghost glanced at the princess before giving Ka'na a short glare. "No," he answered curtly.

Erika glanced at Ka'na for an explanation.

"Ana," Ka'na said as if that explained everything.

"She's part of the team that's bringing him here?" the princess deduced.

"Yes."

"I don't think you have anything to worry. Your sister can take care of herself. She's a big girl now."

"She's a healer," Ghost pointed out. "And this is her first mission in a potentially dangerous environment. But... you're right. She'll be fine. If she isn't... I'll ..."

"If you forgot, you passed up the opportunity for membership in the twins' mayhem and shock troops," Erika reminded him.

After Bastet's attack, the twins wanted to recruit Ghost for their shock troops program - heavily armored, shielded troops that would pack as much destructive power as possible.

He'd turned their offer down and was put in charge of the small Specter program instead.

"Please," the man snorted, "me, one of those psychopaths?"

"I don't know," Erika said slowly. "There was a reason they wanted you for it. I think you more than proved that you'd be able to fit in."

"Yes," Ghost grimaced. "That Flagship fight. Still, that was because we were forced into a corner. I'd never want to do that again. If you want to kill someone, better do it cleanly. Slaughter and mayhem is not my thing."

"I thought that you turned them down because the twins make you uncomfortable," Erika said.

"What!?" Ghost had a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"You're always tense when you're around them," Erika said slowly.

"All right," Ghost huffed after a moment of thought, "you're right. I think they're both creepy."

"Creepy?" Erika asked.

"Yes. I think it's that fanaticism she serves you and Lady Lilith."

"I believe there's another reason," a new voice behind Ghost said.

Ghost whirled around to confront the one who managed to sneak on him. "Commander!" he said in surprise.

"Zyr'na," Erika smiled deviously. "And what might that be?"

"Commander Ghost has always been a prodigy." Zyr'na stated. "He has never met someone that was so far beyond his skill..."

"Until you," Erika finished.

"You know," Ghost said with a smile, "I'm starting to miss London. The women were always meek there."

"Speaking of meek," Ka'na said as the Stargate begun to activate. "Your sister is about to arrive."

"She's not meek," Ghost half protested. "She's ..."

"I don't know if it's her looks or her personality," Erika begun.

"They just scream "protect her"," Ka'na finished. "It's actually why I sent her. That girl can charm everyone."

"Yes she can," Ghost nodded. "But can someone remind me why we are breaking our own rules about not allowing strangers onto our worlds?! And not only that, but we also told him so much about us."

The stargate activated and people begun to come out from the event horizon.

"It's because we managed to get, (discreetly,) a genetic sample. He has the Alteran Gene. Also, our sensors got what was clearly Alteran tech. There is also the bit about his "Urgo" nanotech. It would be quite a useful tool to have between the members of a squad."

"In some areas, Togar is even more technically advanced than we are," Erika added. "Also, from what we got from our team and the genetic sample, it appears that he is older than he looks."

"Immortality?" Ghost asked.

"It appears to be so," Ka'na nodded. "Our analysis puts his age somewhere between two centuries and six centuries. Think about it - centuries of accumulated knowledge, new Alteran artifacts. He agreed to give us a list of gate addresses, though he didn't mention how he got them. Our hope is that he has a functional Chair."

"I hope it's better than the one Sokar sold to us," Ghost said. "That thing was useless."

"That is not quite true. Yes, the chair was damaged and most of its components were missing, but it did help us significantly in understanding the Alteran tech."

"You know, we don't need all this diplomacy. We could probably just take all we need."

"We could, but we will not," Erika said firmly. "If we want to coexist with other civilizations, we must have a behavioral standard, we have to keep our side of the bargains. We wouldn't want to become like the System Lords, would we?"

Ghost nodded and glared at the large man besides his sister.

The large heavy shields around the stargate area were deactivated and Erika, Ka'na, Ghost and Zyr'na moved to meet their guest.

"Togar," the delicate-looking woman besides the man said warmly.

The man, who had a severe look on his face, relaxed slightly at Ana's musical voice.

"Allow me to introduce you to ..."

**-x-x-x-**

"Commander Ka'na, may I ask a question?" Togar asked. Currently, he was having dinner with Erika, Ka'na, Zyr'na, Ghost and Ana.

"Of course."

"I have wondered. What is the significance of the tattoo you have on your forehead? I noticed that not all of your people have one."

"You know of the Goa'uld, do you not?"

"Yes, though until now, I stayed away from them."

"After Lady Lilith defeated Bastet, we ... declared ourselves independent of her rule. As such, Bastet's mark was removed. However, most Jaffa decided to take Lilith's black moon to show their allegiance. Some of the humans under Eratan rule - decided to take it as well."

"I see. And the black dot?" Togar asked.

"That would be me," Erika sighed.

"The princess is the designated heir to the Eratan throne. The dot represents her and her status."

"Fascinating," the man said. "I must say that I find it somewhat curious that a Goa'uld would choose a human as her heir."

"Mother is unlike most Goa'uld. She made a choice to coexist with her host. It is not unlike the Tok'ra."

"Tok'ra?" Togar repeated. "I have never heard of them."

"That is not surprising. The Tok'ra is a Goa'uld ... subspecies," Erika explained. "They are formed of queen Egeria's spawn and a few Goa'uld who chose the Tok'ra philosophy. Basically they coexist with their hosts on equal terms. Unfortunately after they lost their queen, the Tok'ra also lost their ability to breed."

"And are you and these Tok'ra, allied?"

"No. The Tok'ra wish for the destruction of the Goa'uld. Eratna is somewhat neutral to the situation."

"May I ask why?"

Erika nodded. "Mainly, the Tok'ra think that with the destruction of the Goa'uld, the galaxy will be some sort of perfect society. Unfortunately, humans and Jaffa that were raised under the System Lord's domination won't necessarily be better rulers than the Goa'uld. There are things far worse than the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra want to destroy a system that preserved the current galactic status for millennia."

"Worse things?"

"Yes. Even the Goa'uld explored little beyond their borders. There may very well be worse things out there. Simply destroying the dominant race will only result in further bloodshed as those who served the Goa'uld System Lords and the many independent worlds, do what they learned from the Goa'uld."

"From what I understand," Togar said slowly, "your technology is more advanced than the Goa'uld's. Unlike them, you use advanced technologies and your people are highly educated." At Erika's nod, the man continued. "Then why do you not take the System Lords' place?"

"To take the Goa'uld domains, not only must we be able to defend them, but we have to impose our rule over them. We would rather not involve ourselves in such a risky venture."

**-x-x-x-**

It was the next day that Togar was shown into the control room to see a routine mission. The man had provided them with a list of gate addresses and was waiting to see what was on the other side.

"You only send unmanned probes to scout?" the visitor asked.

"Yes," Ka'na nodded. "We study the received data thoroughly before sending our personnel. Exploring carries many risks. Some of the worlds we explored proved to be quite lethal."

As soon as the Stargate opened, an uncloaked probe followed by a cloaked one flew through the event horizon.

On the large screen in the control room, the image of a strange planet appeared. The sky was filled by heavy clouds and there were strange buildings in the distance.

The first probe began to scan around. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then, a bolt of energy slammed into the first probe. A second later, the cloaked one was also hit.

The probes begun to fly towards a large floating object. Then the image disappeared.

"We are still receiving data," one of the techs said, "but our computers can't analyze it."

An alarm begun to sound as a bolt of lightning shot through the Control room.

"Close the gate," Ka'na shouted.

The stargate shot down, but it was too late.

"Commander," one of the techs said, "there is something in our computer systems."

"What is it?" Another bolt of lightning shot out.

"A virus. It's a good one, too. It's spreading through our systems."

"Shut everything down and purge," Ka'na ordered.

"Yes, Commander."

It took less than a minute for everything to come back on-line.

"Start sweeping all systems," Ka'na ordered.

"What was that?" Zyr'na asked.

"I'm not sure," Erika answered, "but I think that those lightning discharges were some kind of weapon."

"Commander!" one of the techs shouted minutes later. "The self destruct has been initiated."

"How?" That wasn't supposed to happen. The self destruct could only be triggered by physically introducing three passwords.

"I do not know."

"Can you shut it down?"

"No. We have thirty minutes till detonation."

"Get me a security team," Ka'na said walking away. "I'm heading over there."

Zyr'na glanced at Erika's security detail. "Evacuate the princess and Togar to one of the cloaked scouts. Ghost," Zyr'na added, "take Ana and go with them."

"What about you?" Erika asked.

"I will catch up to you."

**-x-x-x-**

Erika and her group were quickly walking on their escape route when they met a squad heading in the opposite direction.

Their movement was slow and deliberate, unlike Erika's group. When they got in front of Erika's group, they stopped and pointed their weapons at them.

Ghost pushed his sister out of the way and two other guards stepped in front of Togar. Two other stepped in front of Erika, not caring that she already was too well protected by her shield.

The first shots hit Erika's group and the guards that were in front got peppered by plasma blasts. The guards pointed their rifles at their attackers and opened fire. At the same time, a shockwave from Erika's hand device went towards the enemies, who got thrown back. Erika and the Eratan guards kept firing until the suits could move no more.

One of the guards advanced to check their attackers. "They're empty," he said. "The suits are empty!"

Erika approached the damaged empty suits.

Togar came from behind his protectors, curious of their attackers. He headed towards the Eratan princess who was crouched down in front of one of the suits.

Erika was looking over the damaged suits when she saw something half hidden. Her eyes widened in horror, recognizing a small, but powerful bomb. "Bomb!!!" she shouted. She mentally commanded her shield to go on maximum power and crouched down with her back toward the bomb.

Togar came crashing down as the slight frame of Ana slammed into his back. He grunted as he felt two more weights on his back, and closed his eyes.

The explosion overloaded Erika's shield, flinging her away from it. Checking the status of her suit, she realized that the suit protected her after the shield collapsed. She rose unsteadily to her feat and breathed a sigh of relief. The shield saved not only her, but the ones behind her as well.

Erika stared at the remains of the empty suits.

One of the enemy suits which was not in the direct path of the explosion, had escaped unscratched. Suddenly, a lightning burst from the empty suit and headed towards the princess. She tried to activate the shield, but it would not work. Just as she was about to be struck, a dark shadow fell on Erica. She could feel a slight decrease in temperature as Zyr'na stepped behind her.

The energy struck the Dark Shroud and retreated. Erika breathed a sigh of relief at Zyr'na's ingenuity. The Dark Shroud could extract power from the ambient energy around. The technology was one of the Alteran abandoned experiments. They abandoned it because they realized that its use as a power generator was limited. However the Eratan scientists thought differently. Even if it wasn't a very efficient power source, it could become a useful shield technology by drawing energy directly from attacks that entered the shroud. The problem was that they hadn't found a way to direct it only at outside sources. As it was now, prolonged exposure would freeze one's body. The tech was still limited, but against this energy entity, it was the perfect defense.

The entity, now deprived of her target jumped up and then, down, behind Erika and Zyr'na and among her companions. Before she could do anything, the strange energy crashed into Ana.

The healer stiffened, drew her stunner and tried to point it at Erika. Ghost tackled her and the possessed Ana lost her only weapon. She tried to take one of Ghost's but her suit was that of a healer while Ghost had a Specter suit. He immobilized her. "Surrender!" he said.

His possessed sister struggled a few more seconds, and then, she froze.

**-x-x-x-**

Erika, Ka'na, Ghost and Togar were in an observation room above the possessed Ana's cell.

Two healers approached them to give them their report. "It appears," one of them said, "that the entity possessed healer Ana. Its control over her physical functions is quite good. It is capable of doing that by using her nano-bots as processing power."

"Anything else?" Erika asked.

The healer hesitated for a second before continuing. "We believe that attempting to forcibly remove the entity is risky. The possibility of death is high."

"Even if we use the shroud?" Ghost asked.

The healer nodded. "It would take time to destroy the entity. Not long enough to also injure Ana permanently, but in that time, the entity could produce massive damage to her nervous system." The healer paused and added, "The damage may be great enough to permanently destroy her mind. She could be revived by a sarcophagus, but she would be an empty shell."

"I see," Erika said. "Then we'll see if we can negotiate."

"Princess, you should not approach the entity," Zyr'na said. "It was obviously going after you - our princess. When it failed, it possessed Ana, who while not of a high rank, is a non-combatant that is close to many of us."

"Blackmail?"

"Yes."

"That means that the entity was able to understand our language, discover who is who, recognize us. Make a plan to deactivate my shield and know that I had one."

"Understand that we would never willingly harm you," Ka'na added, "and to a lesser degree, Ana."

"I think it's time to have a chat with the entity."

**-x-x-x-**

Erika stepped into the room followed by Zyr'na. The princess had her shield activated. And her bodyguard brought the Dark Shroud with her.

"You are Imperial Princess Erika." Ana's emotional voice stated.

The entity in control of Ana turned her attention on Zyr'na. "Commander of the Imperial Guards Zyr'na."

"And you are?" Erika asked.

"I have no name."

"I see. Tell me why did you attack us?"

"You attacked."

"We did not," Erika replied. "We only sent two probes."

"Yes."

"The probes are not weapons. We use them to see if a place is dangerous for us."

"Energy was emitted from your probe. It caused contagion. Much damage was caused within."

"Within what?"

"Within us. It spread before we understood it was damaging."

"You were damaged by our scans."

"Yes."

"That was not our intention. We did not want to attack you."

"Yet the damage is done."

"Why did you come here?"

"To preserve."

"How?"

"By destroying you."

"I'm afraid I can not allow you to do that," Erika said.

"My world must be preserved."

"Then you have been successful in your mission. We will not return to your world."

"Your words could be false," the entity said.

"Yes, they could. However, I will do my best to prove that I am not lying. As apologies for our unintentional attack, I will also tell you how you can protect your world from a repeat of this incident."

"How?"

"If you bury the Stargate, you will be defended from being damaged by those who come through the Stargate. Alternatively, we could give you a shield that could be put around the Stargate and filter any dangerous energy. It will not protect you from any ships that may come," Erika added, "but it is better than nothing."

"Ships?" the entity asked.

"Yes," Erika nodded. "The Stargate is not the only way to traverse galactic distances, just the easiest."

"What do you ask in exchange?"

"For the shield, nothing," Erika said. "However, we could cooperate further than that. An alliance between us could be beneficial for both sides."

"If you send me back to my world, we will consider it."

"And in exchange, you will release Ana."

"Agreed."

"We will have to find a way to communicate with you without damaging you."

"Agreed."

Erika smiled at Ana's emotional face. "Agreed."

-x-x-x-

Published: April 2, 2010;

-voider-


	22. Chapter 22 Merely?

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 22.**

**Merely?**

**x-x-x-**

**1791 AD, Tau'ri(Earth), Europe, England.**

Will the Traveler ducked under a sword, ramming his own sword in the chest of the man in front of him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that the second robber was about to slash his back. The traveler rolled away from the attack, leaving his sword embedded in the body of the bandit. He got to his feet, bringing his hand up, holding a dagger.

The man glanced sideways at his two remaining companions. Each of them was fighting two bandits. With the death of the bandit, so was he. He wanted nothing more than to pull out a real weapon and shoot their attackers. Unfortunately, his two companions were ordinary humans. If they saw him shooting lightning and balls of fire, they'd think he was some kind of demon. He didn't want to go through the trouble of drugging them to erase their memories.

His two opponents were advancing on him. Will's hand flashed forward, and the dagger in his hand embedded in the throat of the closer enemy. Rushing forward, he grabbed the blade in the hand of his dieing enemy and brought it up to parry the wild swing of his last opponent. Will freed his dagger from his second kill and drove it in the heart of his third.

Freeing his weapon, he ran towards his traveling companions. Just as he arrived at the corpse of his first foe, he threw his borrowed sword at the back of one of the enemies fighting his companions. The sword made a large gash at the back of the unaware bandit, and Will's companion took advantage of the situation.

Will pulled his favorite sword from the first enemy and headed towards his second companion.

Now that they were no longer outnumbered, they made short work of the bandits.

"You have my thanks, Will the Traveler," one of his two remaining companions said after the fight. "Without you, we'd be dead."

"Yes, my good man," the second man slapped him on the back. Will grunted in pain and his companions looked at him with worry. "You are injured, friend."

He'd forgotten all about the arrow wound he received when they were ambushed. It was only a flesh wound, and the nano-bots in his bloodstream would have no problem healing it. Four of his Tau'ri traveling companions were not as lucky, when they were hit by arrows. Only one of them was killed outright, but the three other injured were quickly killed at the beginning of the fight.

"It is merely a scratch," Will said.

"I believe it is a tad more serious, my brave friend."

"Believe me, I've had worse." He had to be revived by a sarcophagus once. "I will clean the wound and bandage it. If it doesn't heal well, I'll have it looked at when we arrive in the next town."

Unfortunately, a day later, Will's companions looked at his cooling body in sadness.

"He was a good man. We should give him a proper burial."

"Aye."

-x-x-x-

The Tau'ri outpost commander was waiting in the control room, for his princess to come. Before he became its commander, they had to bury the gate anytime except at certain preset intervals.

Their iris was over the event horizon. This had the same effect as burying it. Now, thanks to his coming visitor, they no longer had that problem. Princess Erika found a way to modify the dialing protocol. Now, it connected only with Eratan worlds.

As soon as the Stargate connected, a squad of Eratan imperial guards stepped through the gate, followed by his princess and one of the Commanders to the Imperial guards. Another squad followed and Agmund ordered for the heavy shields around the gate to be disabled.

He headed out to greet his princess, wondering why she came.

"Princess," the man bowed respectfully. "Welcome to Tau'ri." He nodded at Erika's companion. "Commander."

"Thank you, Agmund," Erika said. "I was curious of the Tau'ri, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to visit."

"I do not understand," the man said.

"That incident with one of your people - Will Traveler."

"Ah," Agmund nodded thoughtfully. "I must say that it is quite a mystery. He only received a minor wound. It was nowhere enough to cause serious harm. Unfortunately, somehow, his nono-bots and symbiote cells didn't heal him. After we revived him, we discovered that there was nothing wrong with his enhancements. We kept making tests, but we never found anything wrong. It is quite a mystery for my people."

"I see. Did anything strange happen with him? Did he come in contact with anything strange?"

"There is only one thing," Agmund said reluctantly. "He said he remembers a strange dream. Four green lights and flying. I have ordered an investigation into the dream, to see if anyone had a similar one. For now, we have nothing."

"I see," Erika said thoughtfully. "I would like to speak with him."

"Of course, princess. This way..."

**-x-x-x-**

Erika woke from her sleep and stared blankly at the sealing. She had the same dream Will Traveler had.

The princess got out of bed and grabbed her hand device to put it on. As soon as it was on her hand, she froze in fear.

She tried to connect with it, but she couldn't. She couldn't feel it.

"Zyr'na!" she shouted.

At her panicked shout, the door to her room crashed open and her bodyguard rushed in, weapons in her hand. "Princess?" Four more guards came in, but when they saw no threat, they relaxed slightly. "Princess?" Zyr'na repeated. "What is it?"

"I can't connect."

Zyr'na stared at Erika's hand device. Her suit sensors scanned her princess. "Your hand device requires naqahdah. But... there is no naqahdah in your bloodstream."

"That should be impossible. I have to have my body scanned and analyzed."

Zyr'na nodded and Erika dressed herself. "The rest of your equipment works fine," the bodyguard observed.

"Yes," Erika replied. "It's only the hand device. Only it requires naqahdah."

**-x-x-x-**

After she had her body analyzed, Erika stared at the results in incomprehension.

"Princess?" Zyr'na asked.

"I have no naqahdah, no symbiote cells, no nano-bots. Nothing."

Just then, Agmund entered the lab Erika was working in. "I have news," he said. The result of the survey is back. "There were twelve people who had the dream. All of them had the Alteran gene. Will Traveler too. Some of them remember something else."

"What?" Erika asked.

"It is something that is eerily similar to the descriptions we have on the Asgard."

"The Asgard?" Erika repeated. Why would they do something like this, she wondered. If Will Traveler's enhancements were not working, that means that they were missing when he died. Why would they kidnap us, remove our enhancements, return us, kidnap us again, give them back and then, finally return us. It makes no sense.

"I wonder how they are doing the kidnapping," Zyr'na said.

"They have long range transporters. They're the only known race with the capability."

"Can they be blocked?" Zyr'na asked.

"Yes, that won't be too difficult, especially if we can get some sensor data on their transporters. If it was the Asgard, it won't be hard to find out. My suit should have recorded the event. Also, the outpost's sensors should have recorded it, if it happened." The woman accessed her suit's logs and found the answer. "It's the Asgard. There's no doubt about it."

"Why would they do all this?" Agmund wondered.

"They were allied with the Alterans," the princess said. "Since they only kidnapped those with the gene, it's obvious it had something to do with their old allies. And I think we can find out more of what happened when we were kidnaped. We'll use the Brain Interlink we got from Togar."

"Brain Interlink?"

"Yes. It is a nano-device that can link with one or several brains. It allows those who are linked to communicate thoughts and feelings. Also, the Interlink can be used to access the brain. We'll use it to see if we can get a better understanding of what happened."

Agmund nodded. "I will begin preparations."

**-x-x-x-**

A day later, they had their answer. They watched the memories of those who were suspected of being kidnapped.

It was the same thing. They waked floating in an Asgard room. They saw an Asgard. They were told not to be afraid. Some of them tried to fight the small gray being, but it was protected by a shield. Their weapons were transported away. They saw green lights floating above them. The Asgard studied them. They were returned. They were kidnapped again. They saw themselves in a pod. And then, nothing

"What did that mean?" Agmund asked. "Why did they see themselves?"

"Clones," Erika whispered. "The Asgard are immortal. The Goa'uld believes they can transfer their minds in clone bodies."

There is only one explanation for why Will Traveler's enhancements did not work. The same reason mine are missing." Erika looked at Zyr'na with pain in her eyes.

"Princess?"

"The Will Traveler that died was a clone of the real Will Traveler. Before he was tested to see the reason he didn't heal himself, he was taken. The Asgard copied the memory of the clone to the body of the original. And then, the original was returned. When he was tested, there was nothing wrong with him, because he was the original. His enhancements were working fine."

"Princess?" Zyr'na had o look of disbelief on her face.

"The same thing happened to me. I am a clone."

Agmund stared at Erika in disbelief.

Zyr'na glanced at Agmund. "Commander," she said.

"Yes?"

"Leave us."

The man nodded dumbly.

"And not a word of this to anyone."

"Yes."

Once they were alone, Zyr'na stared at her princess' copy. "And the original?"

"The Asgard has her. Once he takes me, he'll return her."

"You are willing to do that?"

The princess's clone closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "I must," she said.

Zyr'na nodded. "And you? What will happen with you, princess?"

The clone smiled sadly. "I'm not very optimist. And I am not the princess. I am a clone."

Zyr'na walked towards the clone and kneeled. She gently took hold of the clone's hand and brought it to her forehead. "You are more than that. Do you not have her memories? Her knowledge? You are far more than a mere copy. Do you not have feelings, a body and a mind? Are you not alive? You are what you are. Clone or original... does one lessen the other?"

The clone dropped to her knees and threw herself in Zyr'na's arms. "Thank you," she whispered. The clone stayed like that for minutes. "I'm still going to do it," she said.

"I understand," the bodyguard said. "Perhaps you can subdue the Asgard."

"How?" You saw what happened in the memories. He has a shield."

"Perhaps you can hide a weapon until he deactivates it."

"How?" Erika asked. "He's an Asgard. No matter the weapon I have, his scanners will find them. And even if I had a weapon, how can I shoot it if I can't control my body?"

"What if it wasn't a weapon?" Zyr'na said.

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps our ELF allies can help us. Perhaps the Asgard scanners will be unable to realize what they are."

The clone smiled. "That's brilliant."

"Then I will make the preparations.

"Thank you... Zyr'na?"

"Yes?"

"It wouldn't be a good idea for mother to come here."

"Why?"

"If she comes here, the Asgard might become alarmed."

"That is a logical reason," Zyr'na said, not prying further. She bowed and left the room.

**-x-x-x-**

The clone got up from a sarcophagus, reddish-transparent viscous liquid clinging to her body. Zyr'na covered her with a towel. "Princess?"

"I am fine." She glanced at the blank face of a female figure standing besides Zyr'na. "You are the ELF that was sent?"

"Yes," the cold, emotionless voice answered.

"Do you have a name?"

"I am Alcyone." The ELF cocked her head. "What is your name?"

"I..." the clone floundered.

"How about Astrid?" a new voice said.

"Mother..." Lilith and Zar'na had just entered.

"Leave us," Lilith ordered.

When the room was empty, Lilith strode towards the clone. "Do you like it?"

"The name?" At Lilith's nod, the clone gave her a sad smile. "Yes, that is a good name... I didn't think that you'd come here. Isn't it risky for you to be here?"

Lilith showed her a small sphere. "Sensor distorter," she explained. "I wanted to see my daughter."

"I'll get her back."

"I was referring to you, little one."

"Thank you... mother."

Lilith engulfed Astrid in a strong hug. "Oh, little one. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I must. It's our best chance to get... the original..."

"Sister," Lilith corrected her.

"What?"

"Sister," Lilith repeated. "She's more than your original and you are more than her clone. You are sisters."

"Just like that?"

"Yes, beloved. Just like that. We are what we are. You have Erika's memories. You have her body and mind. If I see her as my daughter, how can I not see you in the same way?"

"Then I'll get my sister back."

Lilith kissed her forehead. "I know you will."

After the twins and the ELF rejoined them, Astrid stood in front of the android that housed the Energy being. "Join me Alcyone."

Lightning flashed between the ELF and Astrid. When it was finished, the android deactivated and Astrid's face went blank.

"Astrid?" Lilith asked.

"She is here."

"Was the transfer completed successfully?"

"Affirmative, Empress Lilith."

"Good. You know what to do."

The possessed Astrid gave a small nod and closed its eyes. "It is done," Astrid said in a normal voice.

"Astrid?"

"Yes. Alcyone is dormant. You should go. I don't think it would be a good idea for the Asgard to find out you are here."

Lilith gave her new daughter a hug. "Stay safe, little one."

**-x-x-x-**

Astrid woke herself under green lights. In the corner of her eyes, she could see Erika.

The green lights flashed brighter. At the same time, Erika's head was illuminated by similar lights. For a few long moments, nothing else happened, but then, Erika disappeared in a flash of white light and the Asgard appeared in front of her.

"Release me, Asgard."

The small gray being blinked at Astrid. "You are breaking the treaty between the Goa'uld and the Asgard. If you do not release me, there will be war."

The Asgard approached her. "I can not do that. My work is too important. I regret this had to be done, but, for the good of my race, I must do it."

The Asgard was now next to her head.

NOW! she thought to the entity within.

A bolt of lightning burst from her and slammed into the small Asgard figure, which collapsed. The ELF jumped further, in the machines around Astrid and then, disappeared.

Suddenly, Astrid was able to move. She jumped from the table, crouched down and removed the stone the Asgard had in his hand. Looking around, she realized she was on the bridge of a ship. She headed for the control chair and when she was in front of it, she glanced at the controls. Astrid could recognize the markings on the controls as similar to the Norse runes she grew up learning on her former frozen homeworld. She also had a little knowledge of the Asgard language gained from Alteran texts. The Alteran were familiar with the Asgard language, and Eratna now had a good knowledge of the Alteran language.

"I have managed to infiltrate the ship's computers," a voice said from all around Astrid.

"Alcyone?"

"Yes."

"How deep did you get?"

"I only have rudimentary control of the ship," the voice answered. "The firewalls are on low capacity, however they are extremely good. I am attempting to bypass them."

"Good. Did you find a way to activate the transporter?"

"Affirmative. Shall I begin the transfer?"

"Yes."

There was a sound, a flash of white, and Zyr'na and an Eratan squad appeared on the bridge of the ship. A second squad followed, then a third, and so on, until there were almost two thousand soldiers and technicians.

The Eratans spread throughout the ship, trying to discover everything they could from the alien ship. They didn't know how much time they would have until someone would come to check on their Asgard prisoner, so they had to hurry.

"Are you coming down?" Zyr'na asked.

Astrid shook her head. "No. What kind of scientist would I be if I passed a chance to study Asgard tech in person?"

"Very well, Princess." Zyr'na nodded at a squad, who surrounded the Asgard prisoner.

"Alcyone," Astrid said. "Sent the Asgard and his guards down to the outpost."

"Affirmative." After the Asgard was off the ship, she turned her attention to the ships controls.

**-x-x-x-**

Once the Asgard woke up, Lilith strode inside the Asgard's cell. Zar'na came behind her empress, eyes fixed on the Asgard, searching for any signs of danger.

"You are Lilith," the Asgard said.

"And you are?" Lilith asked.

"I am Loki. You have taken me prisoner."

"Yes, Asgard."

"You will not gain any information from me. Asgard minds are too strong."

"You are quite correct, Asgard. it is unlikely that I can gain any information from you. However, who said anything about information?"

"If you are not planning to interrogate me, then why are you keeping me prisoner?"

"You kidnapped my people."

"Yes," Loki admitted. "However, I returned them once my research with them was done. You have my apologies for your people's unwilling participation in my research, but the disruption over their life was minimal."

"Yes," Lilith nodded, "the clones. Tell me Asgard, what happened with the clones after the originals were returned?"

"Once the originals had the memories of their missing time copied from the clones, the clones were no longer needed."

"Zar'na..."

"Lady?"

"Leave us."

"As you command," the bodyguard bowed, and left.

"So you killed them," Lilith said.

"They were no longer needed.

"And my daughter... were you planning to do the same thing to her clone as well?"

"I have not taken any Goa'uld," Loki said.

"I am talking about Erika. Her clone is the one who stunned you."

"She is not Goa'uld. She is human."

"That doesn't make her any less of a daughter," Lilith hissed. "You were planning to kill my daughter."

"I was not," Loki protested. "She was returned safely."

"I am talking about her clone."

"I do not understand."

"You were going to kill my daughter's clone. You created a self aware clone, and you were planning to kill her after you had no more use for her. Her being a clone doesn't make her death trivial."

"She is merely a clone..."

"MERELY a clone?" Lilith snarled. The Goa'uld's eyes flashed and she pointed her hand at the Asgard's head. A ribbon of orange light came from Lilith's hand device and connected with Loki's head.

The Asgard screamed and Lilith smiled in satisfaction.

Lilith's arm was suddenly yanked away and the energy stream between Goa'uld and Asgard was interrupted. Erika's hand gently squeezed her arm. "Mother," she said softly, "you can't kill him."

"I think I can," Lilith said with a smile of anticipation.

"No you can't. Thor is here."

Lilith felt a shiver down her spine. "So fast?"

"Yes. Astrid is talking to him. It appears that the Asgard were unaware of Loki's experiments. He said that he's going to be punished, but he's demanding Loki's immediate return. And to evacuate the ship."

Lilith glared at Loki.

"You can't kill him. It could lead to war with the Asgard."

Lilith sighed in frustration. "You're right." She tried to smile at Erika and succeeded when she looked in Erika's worried eyes. "You're right, our safety is more important than revenge."

**-x-x-x-**

Astrid sighed in relief when she received her message from Erika.

"Have our people begin retreating," Astrid told Zyr'na. "We'll retreat in twenty minutes."

"Alcyone, get as much data as you can. We'll be pulling out soon."

"I have encountered a difficulty," the ELF replied.

"What difficulty?"

"The ship's computers are highly advanced. My penetration within the ship's computers is minimal. However, the amount of growth I experienced is high. I can no longer fit within my android body."

"I see," Astrid said and opened her comm. "Erika," she said, "I will need the computers in the backup control room."

"What happened?"

"Alcyone grew too much," Astrid explained.

"I see."

**-x-x-x-**

Astrid faced Thor's face on the view-screen. "Loki will be transported here momentarily. He will need medical attention."

"Is he injured?" Thor asked.

"Mother was very angry," Astrid said. "Had my sister or I died at Loki's hands, there would have been war between us." Astrid doubted they could hide their tracks from the Asgard. There was little use from hiding the little they learned from the Asgard ship. The ship was filled with scanners, and the moment an Asgard gained full control of the ship, they'd learn of everything that happened. The only way to keep everything secret would be to destroy the ship, Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. It would be insane to provoke them. As long as they didn't step on the Asgard's toes, the aliens were unlikely to attack them. If they stepped over the line, they'd meet the same fate particularly foolish Goa'uld met when they challenged the Asgard. It would be better if she tried to make the Asgard interested in a possible cooperation. "Next time you try to find a way to solve your race's genetic degradation, you might try to simply ask. Eratna would not be opposed to such a trade."

Thor cocked his head. "How are you aware of this fact?"

"Loki's computers."

"I was not aware that the Goa'uld could read our language."

"We gained sufficient data for rudimentary understanding of your written language from the Alterans."

"The Alterans?"

"Yes," Astrid nodded. "Many Eratans are genetically, advanced enough, to allow us basic use of Alteran technology. We may not be the Alterans, but we're the next best thing you're going to get. If you are interested in a possible cooperation with us, you are welcome to our Trade Worlds."

"You would expect the Asgard to trust the Goa'uld?" Thor asked.

"Only mother," Astrid said. "Not all Goa'uld are like the System Lords."

"The Asgard will take your offer into consideration."

Thor disappeared and Astrid glanced at Zyr'na. "That went well."

"Was it wise to draw their attention?"

"Even this long after the disappearance of the Alteran race, they still try to care for the Alterans' legacy. They would be good friends to have."

"I am not sure they will be so well disposed towards us once they found out what the Lady did to Loki."

"I don't think that's going to cause us too many problems."

**-x-x-x-**

There was a flash of light, and the outpost's back-up computers were transported on the bridge.

"Alcyone," it is time to leave.

The ELF launched itself from the ship into the computers. Once the ELF finished, Astrid beamed it down to the planet. A moment later, the transporters activated again and the Asgard ship was empty.

**-x-x-x-**

**Published**: May 15, 2010.

-voider-


	23. Chapter 23 Last of the Altera

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 23.**

**Last of the Altera.**

**x-x-x-**

**1800 AD, Tau'ri(Earth), Antarctica.**

Turok slowly piloted his explorer over the white expanse of the planet's South Pole. He was searching for the elusive Alteran outpost that Alcyone - the ELF that helped save his princesses from the Asgard Loki, learned from the Asgard science vessel. Unfortunately, the ELF was only able to learn the general location of the outpost, general meaning roughly a few million square kilometers. Even that much was due to blind luck. Asgard firewalls and computers were dozens of thousand of years ahead of Goa'uld technology. Despite being a few hundreds of years ahead of the Goa'uld tech, Eratna's tech level was primitive if compared with Asgard tech. Still, even with their technological superiority, the gray aliens were not invincible, as Alcyone proved. She was able to lightly penetrate past the Asgard lowered firewalls and glimpse a few things. The ELF managed to gain some very general knowledge of Asgard tech. She also broke into a database on the Tau'ri and learned of the existence of an Alteran Outpost on the planet. Unfortunately, before she could get its location, she was pushed back by the ship's firewalls.

For the past ten years, they'd tried to find the Outpost, but were unsuccessful. Thankfully, the princesses had a small breakthrough with what little was glimpsed from the Asgard science vessel. They had found a way to significantly improve sensor capacity.

And now, it was hoped that they would finally find the Alteran Outpost.

Turok begun to rotate around the most probable location - where the original Tau'ri Stargate was unburied. After Ra's retreat from the Tau'ri and the loss of the Egyptian stargate, it was used by various Goa'uld until it too was buried.

The former Jaffa and now Eratan shook his head at the frozen form of a Jaffa buried near the Stargate. He knew they'd be there from the reports of the previous tries to find the Outpost. Unlike the last time however, the new sensors gave him a perfect view of the remains. The pilot moved on to his next find and blinked in surprise. Instead of the expected Jaffa remains, he saw what looked like a well preserved human female.

Strange that she's so well preserved, he thought. Better tell the scientists. They'll probably want to see this.

**-x-x-x-**

Astrid stared at a screen that displayed a sleeping female. They'd taken her from the ice only due to scientific curiosity. But this... it was amazing. Not only was she alive, but she was alive after being frozen for the past five million years.

She was older than the second evolution of humanity. That, coupled with an in depth genetic check proved that she was Alteran.

She was the Last of the Altera.

The woman finally blinked and awakened for the first time in five million years.

"Is it safe to visit her?" Astrid asked.

Ana nodded. "Of course, princess."

"And can I lower my helmet?"

"Yes, princess, we found nothing that could hurt us and her immune system is extremely advanced. There is no danger in sharing the same air."

"Good, I don't want to frighten her."

Feeling a thrill of anticipation for finally talking with a true Alteran, she hurried towards the chamber that housed the woman.

Before entering, she glanced at her guards and Ana thoughtfully. "Stay here," she ordered. "And have some food brought for our guest."

The guards bowed and took sentry positions.

Astrid entered the room and smiled at the Altera female.

"Greetings," Astrid said in the Alteran language.

"Gre-e-tings?" the female repeated.

"Can you understand me?"

"Under-stand?"

She doesn't understand me, Astrid thought in disappointment. Pointing at herself, she said, "Astrid. I am Astrid." Pointing at the unfrozen female, she asked, "Who are you?"

The woman appeared to understand what Astrid was trying to convey, but shook her head.

"So, you lost your memories and you don't have a name. Very well. I shall name you... Priscilla. I am Astrid," the Eratan princess pointed at herself. "And you," Astrid pointed at the Alteran female, "are Priscilla."

Priscilla nodded. "Priscilla," she pointed to herself. "I... am Priscilla."

The door opened and one of her guards entered with a tray of food.

"Aah, food has arrived."

The guard put the food on the table next to the bed, bowed to her princess and left.

Seeing that Priscilla was not eating, Astrid took a piece of food from the tray and ate it. "Eat," she said.

The Alteran female took a hesitant bite, and then, she begun to wolf down all the food.

After Priscilla finished her food, Astrid decided to start teaching the Alteran female to speak.

**-x-x-x- **

In only a few hours, Priscilla begun to have a basic understanding of the Alteran language and Astrid decided to end her session. She was suddenly feeling tired and decided that after a night's sleep, she would continue to teach Priscilla. She stood up, but she stumbled and fainted.

Priscilla's eyes widened in shock, but before she could do anything, the door to the room burst open and the guards rushed in with weapons trained at her. The Alteran froze under the half a dozen weapons pointed at her body.

Ana - helmet already sealed over her head - rushed in behind the guards and headed towards Erika. "It wasn't her doing," she told the guards. "At least, not knowingly. Execute Quarantine procedures!"

The guards nodded, lowering their weapons and raising their helmets, while Ana started to check on Astrid. The sound of an alarm begun to sound throughout the Outpost, alerting of the new danger.

Ana activated her healing device and lowered it over Astrid's head. Instantly, the unconscious princess opened her eyes and groaned. "What happened?"

"We don't know," Ana replied. "Most likely, it was a virus that we didn't pick up on our scans."

"I see." Astrid smiled assuredly at a frightened Priscilla who glanced warily between her and the bodyguards. "You may go," the princess told her bodyguards.

The bodyguards bowed and left. "Do not be afraid," Astrid said softly to Priscilla.

The Alteran nodded and tried to smile. "What ... happened?"

"I am not sure, but Ana will find out."

**-x-x-x-**

**1800 AD, Eratna, Imperial Council Meeting Room.**

Lilith closed her eyes in pain. 'How could this happen again?'

'Our technology is more advanced than it was then,' Maya said in encouragement.

Lilith calmed herself. "How did this happen?" she asked neutrally.

Eerie, Kyra and the twins glanced at Erika, who sighed. "We don't really know. The healers that revived Priscilla took every precaution before allowing direct contact," Erika explained. "Originally, they found nothing that could have caused this new plague."

"And yet, it happened," Lilith said.

"Yes. Astrid taught Priscilla enough of the Alteran language for basic communication. It looks like the process used to preserve her body for the last five million years had a severe side effect. She remembers nothing of her past life."

"Then do we have any idea of why this happened?"

Erika nodded reluctantly. "The last communication sent by the outpost showed something that should be impossible."

"What is it?"

"From what they gathered, the reason the plague wasn't detected when the Alteran female was discovered is that... there was no plague."

"What do you mean?"

"The plague... evolved. At first, when we revived Priscilla, the plague was dormant in a harmless form. The healers found that the origin of the plague looked completely harmless. However, after she was revived, it changed."

"Why isn't it stopped by our enhancements?"

"Our medical nano-bots are completely ineffectual in combating the plague. They can still heal the damage, but against the plague, they are useless."

"What about the symbiote cells?" Lilith asked.

"They are marginally effective. However, the best they can do is to slow the plague."

"Do the healers have a theory why the plague is immune to our enhancements?"

Erika looked afraid for a moment. "Because it has a form of intelligence," Erika said. Staring at the shocked Eratan leaders around her, Erika nodded. "Everything points to this. That is some way, the plague is able to adapt itself to combat our artificial cures. The healers created a quick biological antivirus to combat the plague, but ... the plague changed. It evolved, rendering the antivirus useless. The same thing happened with the medical nano-bots; When they started to attack the plague, it evolved a defense almost instantly and destroyed the attacking nano-bots. The healers had to administer a new batch of medical bots that were programmed to ignore the plague. In comparison to the plague that destroyed the research outpost... this new plague is hundreds of times worse."

"How long will it take to find a cure?" Eerie asked.

"I don't think we can find one," Erika replied between clenched teeth.

"Why?"

"I've searched through everything we have on the Alterans. I've found several passing references to a great plague."

"An Alteran sickness. How did they deal with it? Kyra asked.

"They didn't find a cure to the plague. They used a device that destroyed all infected life, and then, they recreated it. If the Alterans couldn't find a way to cure the plague, how can we - who barely have a basic understanding of their technology?"

"There is someone more advanced than us," Lilith said.

"The Asgard?" Erika asked.

"Would they not feel duty-bound to help the last of the Altera?"

"Yes!" Erika agreed. "But... how can we get in contact with them?"

"There are ways," Lilith said. "We could infringe upon one of their protected worlds."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Kyra asked carefully. "I've read about what happens with the Goa'uld that do that. If we do that, they'll be free to retaliate against us."

Eerie nodded. "That would be bad. And even if we do that, we don't know how long it will take them to come."

Lilith nodded. "That is true. It could take them hours, or it could take them days or even weeks."

"Also, there is no guarantee that they'll listen before shooting," Erika added.

There is an alternative," Lilith said reluctantly, "though I don't like it. We could go to the space station in the Hasara _system - a neutral meeting place for the_ System Lords. There is a communication device to get in contact with the Asgard on the station."

"Do we take a battle fleet and army with us?" Kyra asked.

Lilith shook her head. "No, only I will go."

"You'll at least take your bodyguards with you, right?" Kyra asked.

"I must go unarmed and I can take only one Lotar with me."

"You're kidding," Kyra exclaimed. "Why would any Goa'uld System Lord do that?"

"Because the Space Station is a highly defended Neutral ground. The Jaffa and human slaves that reside on it are raised and educated on the station from infancy. All of them are raised to serve the System Lords as a collective, not individually. They will not allow me, or any Goa'uld System Lord to enter the Space Station with any technology on me. Not even Ra can do that."

"I'd still like to take a few ships with you. Thanks to the princesses, our ships are much faster now, so we wouldn't even uncover our defenses over Eratna."

"We'd have to take the Flagship we stole from Bastet and half of our Eratan Ha'taks then," Eerie said. "I've seen the specks on that behemoth and we'd need that many if we want to keep our losses to the minimum."

"No," Lilith said. "That would lead us to a war with the System Lords and we don't want that if we can help it."

"So you'll go by yourself and only one of us?" one of Lilith bodyguards said.

"No," Erika said. "As known Jaffa warriors, you are forbidden to go. I will go as mother's Lotar. If one of you go and is recognized," Erika told the twins, "it would be seen as breaking the truce. All of the System Lords would join in an attack against Eratna."

"Then we will select someone else that wouldn't be recognized," Zar'na said.

"No, it should be me," Erika said. "The Asgard are indebted to me because of Loki. I should be able to use that when we talk."

"You forget that you have naqahdah in your bloodstream," Lilith said. "We must go unarmed and without any technology on us. We couldn't hide the naqahdah from the scanners and a Lotar with the quantity of naqahdah you have in your bloodstream would be suspicious. Besides, with Astrid infected and my absence, you must stay behind to rule in my absence."

Erika nodded reluctantly. "Very well."

"In that case," Zyr'na said, "I suggest you take Ghost with you."

Zar'na nodded. "Given that the one posing as your Lotar will have to go unarmed and be among the Goa'uld, he is the best option."

"Very well," Lilith said. "Ghost and I will go. We'll take one of the hyper-capable Explorers. With its speed, we'll make a little over two hours from the closest Stargate."

"Lady..." Eerie said slowly. "You are not a System Lord. Will you even be allowed on the Station?"

"Yes. All Goa'uld are, as long as they come unarmed."

"I understand. As a precaution, we should have a stealth bomber with a Stargate to follow you. If we do, you could have two thousand Daggers and defense satellites in half an hour. It's not much, but they can at least run interference if things go bad."

"Agreed," Lilith acceded, "though I doubt it will come to that. Even Sokar would be allowed on the station. Not even Ra, as powerful as he is, would dare to strike against him while on the Station's neutral ground."

**-x-x-x-**

**1800 AD, Hasara S**_**ystem.**_

"Unidentified vessel," a voice came over the comm. "Identify yourself."

"I represent Empress Lilith of Eratna," Ghost said.

"Scanning vessel," the voice answered. "Two life signs detected. No weapons detected. Lowering shields. You may dock with the Station."

"I guess we're in," the Commander said.

"Yes," Lilith nodded.

Ghost ran his eyes over his body with a grimace. Though he and Lilith's clothing was the best Eratan technology could make, it was nowhere near the protection he was accustomed with. "I feel exposed," he said.

"I share that feeling," Lilith said. "But we can not enter the station in armor or carrying weapons. After we dock, we will be scanned again. Advanced technology is not allowed on the station. In any case, you shouldn't worry. No human slave or Jaffa would dare to harm us."

"What of a Goa'uld?" Ghost asked.

"I doubt there are any Goa'uld here. But even if there were, we'd be safe enough."

**-x-x-x-**

After the Explorer docked, Lilith and Ghost headed toward the meeting room.

The door opened and they saw a young male at the left side of the door who bowed at Lilith. "Empress Lilith of Eratna!" he declared.

Lilith stepped inside and came face to face with a gathering of the most powerful System Lords in the Galaxy.

'Out of all the times for the System Lords to meet, why was it now?' Lilith groaned inwardly.

'What are we going to do?' Maya asked worriedly.

'We have to talk with the Asgard and we can't wait for the Goa'uld to leave. We'll have to improvise.'

"Lilith!" Bastet stood up and snarled at the newcomer. "What are you doing here, betrayer?"

"Yes," Ra added calmly. "Despite Bastet's shameful defeat at your hands, you are not yet strong enough to become part of this council."

At the Supreme System Lord's words, Bastet shrank down on herself and sat down.

"I do not come to seek entrance into the System Lord ranks," Lilith said calmly. "My research and the administration of my empire leave little time for other pursuits. Nor, (despite my previous successes,) do I wish for the constant conflict, the life of a System Lord brings.

"An admirable sentiment," Yu said. "However, as a Goa'uld, you can not avoid conflict. Your trade worlds are valuable. If you can not protect them, you will lose them."

Lilith nodded at Yu. "Though I do not seek war, that does not mean that I am not ready for it. My worlds are well defended, as Bastet failed to realize."

"Then why are you here if you do not seek a place among us?" Kali - Bastet's closest ally asked.

Lilith moved forward, stepping into the circle of Goa'uld. "My presence here is not because of this gathering. Though while I am here, I wish to invite the Goa'uld to visit my Trade Worlds and trade. Since my rise, Eratan technology has been steadily advancing." Lilith passed her eyes through the Goa'uld gathering and decided to strike at the Goa'uld greatest fear and desire. "In particular," the Eratan Empress said, "I have been steadily improving on the sarcophagus technology. As most of you know, the technology is unstable and has some serious side effects over centuries-long exposure. I believe that in a few more decades, I will have a much more improved sarcophagus."

The assembled System Lords looked interested at Lilith's words. Ever since Telchak, (the Goa'uld that developed the Sarcophagus,) died, there had been no other Goa'uld to improve on the device. One of the many reasons Anubis was exiled from the System Lords was because when he killed Telchak, he was unable to acquire the scientist's research data and any further advance in sarcophagus technology was effectively ended.

Taking advantage of the Goa'uld inattention, Lilith exited the Goa'uld circle and moved in the opposite direction of the door. She approached a pedestal and pressed a brick.

From the center of the Goa'uld circle, a ring platform appeared and a circular platform materialized in a flash of light.

The Goa'ulds stared at the platform curiously, then at Lilith. No one said anything and after a few seconds of waiting, an Asgard hologram appeared above the platform.

"Greetings. I am Thor - Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet."

"Greetings Thor," Lilith said in Alteran.

"Lilith, why did you call the Asgard?" the gray being asked in the language of their former allies.

"We have made a discovery on the First World. We found an Alteran - a female that was frozen for the past five million years. However, she is infected by a plague. We suspect that it is the plague that devastated the Alterans millions of years ago. The plague was initially ... harmless and our scanners were not able to see the danger. Somehow the plague was able to ... evolve from its harmless state, and now, not only is the Alteran sick, but my daughter and dozens of my people as well. Since you and the Alterans were once allied, I believe that you would be willing and able to help."

Thor blinked and nodded after a few seconds of silence. "The Asgard will assist. I will arrive at your location shortly." The hologram disappeared.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ra asked after Thor disappeared.

"It was merely a business transaction between Eratna and the Asgard."

"I would hardly call that a mere business transaction," Bastet sneered. "And what was that language you were talking in?"

"That is between me and the Asgard," Lilith replied coldly.

Ra's Lotar approached the Supreme System Lord and whispered something in his ear. Everyone watched Ra curiously.

"An Asgard vessel exited hyperspace," the Goa'uld said.

"Then, as my business here is done, I will take my leave," Lilith said, giving the gathered Goa'ulds a nod."

Ra nodded in assent, and Lilith left, followed by Ghost.

**-x-x-x-**

As soon as Lilith's Explorer cleared the Space Station, they were contacted by the Asgard vessel. "With your permission, I will transport your ship aboard my vessel and proceed to our destination at full speed."

"Very well," Lilith agreed.

The Explorer disappeared in a flash of light and the Asgard vessel entered hyperspace.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note**: If the Ancients with all of their technology were unable to deal with the Plague, then it must have been something really advanced. Having the plague be something semi-intelligent would explain it. No matter what new technology they used to fight against the plague, it recognized artificial cures and changed into something that was resistant to the cure.

Published: June 24, 2010.

-voider-


	24. Chapter 24 Second Sister

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 24.**

**Second Sister.**

**x-x-x-**

**1800 AD, Asgard flagship Beliskner.**

Lilith and Ghost appeared in a flash of light on the bridge of the Asgard vessel.

"Welcome to the Beliskner, Empress Lilith," Thor stated from behind a console.

Lilith nodded at the small being. "Thank you, Supreme Commander Thor." The Goa'uld pulled a crystal from her clothes and presented it to the Asgard. "This is the latest data I received from the Tau'ri outpost."

Thor blinked once at Lilith. Wordlessly, he pressed a few runes on his console, and the Crystal disappeared in the flash of an Asgard transporter. The Asgard stared at his console for a few seconds and pressed a few more runes.

"I have transmitted the data to one of our science vessels. Heimdall - one of our best researchers will be arriving to assist us in this matter."

Lilith nodded and Thor begun to stare at the data he received on the plague. A few minutes later, Thor stopped his perusal. "We have arrived. Exiting hyperspace."

"We are being hailed," Thor said a few seconds later.

"I have informed my people that I would request your help."

Thor nodded and Astrid appeared on the bridge's screen.

"Daughter."

"Mother, I see you convinced the Asgard to help us."

Lilith nodded. "Drop the sensor distorters," the Eratan empress ordered. "Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard will assist us. We will provide him with anything he wishes."

"Understood. Will you transport the infected victims of the plague aboard your vessel, Supreme Commander?"

"Not mine." Another Asgard vessel dropped from hyperspace. "Heimdall, one of our greatest scientists has arrived. Her ship is a science vessel and is better equipped to deal with this situation."

"Understood," Astrid replied. "With your permission, I would ask for some of our infected and non-infected scientists and healers to be allowed to help you."

"That is acceptable. The Asgard crews will use body shields to protect themselves from the plague."

"Very well. I will have Ana contact Heimdall to begin preparations."

-x-x-x-

Astrid, Priscilla, Ana and rest of the forty-three Eratans that were infected by the plague were transported on the Asgard science vessel. Almost two thirds of those infected were the healers and guards that had been around the awakened alteran. The rest were those who were infected by the plague after coming in contact with infected personnel. The number of plague victims would have been far greater. Fortunately, the Eratan air-filtration systems did their job properly.

An Asgard was waiting for the group. "Greetings. I am Heimdall," the alien said in Common English.

Astrid nodded politely and replied in the tongue of the Alteran. "Greetings Heimdall. I am Astrid." The princess gestured to one of her companions. "This is Ana, our head healer. And this," Astrid smiled at the last Alteran, "is Priscilla."

Heimdall stared at the ancient for a few seconds. "Greetings, Priscilla. In the name of the Asgard, I welcome one of our old allies. The Asgard will do anything in our power to heal you."

"Thank you, Heimdall. I hope you will be able to help me," the woman glanced at Astrid, "and my friends."

Heimdall nodded. "Of course."

-x-x-x-

"This isn't working," Ana groaned two days later.

Besides the healer, Astrid and Priscilla had to nod.

The Eratan princess sighed. "We've used seventeen different approaches and all of them were failures, each of them bigger than the previous one. None of the other science teams had any better luck."

"We can not lose hope yet, my daughter," said Lilith, who was the only one in her suit, to protect her from the plague. "We are fortunate that the plague is not as destructive as it could be. With our current technology, we can survive it for months. And even if we reach a point where the damage inflicted becomes too great to be repaired, you can wait in stasis for a cure."

"Alternatively," Heimdall stated, "we could provide you with healthy cloned bodies and transfer your mind into them."

Astrid stiffened and the Asgard tried to reassure her. "There is no need to worry. The clones will have blank minds."

"When you say transfer, do you mean move or copy?" Priscilla asked.

"I do not understand."

"Well, if we were to transfer my mind into a clone, would the original body still have the mind?"

"Yes," Heimdall answered.

There were uneasy glances cast between the Eratans and Priscilla.

"So the original infected body would have an intact mind, and so would the copy?"

"Yes?"

More uneasy glances were cast. Astrid looked as if she was about to be sick.

"Astrid?" Priscilla put her hand over the princesses back.

Astrid groaned as a new headache threatened to split her head and Ana drew her healing device. Before she could heal her however, Priscilla's hands started to glow.

After the glow faded, Astrid breathed in relief as all the pain and damage inflicted by the plague seemed to disappear. "Thank you."

"What was that?" Ana asked.

Priscilla shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I just wanted to make her better."

Heimdall informed them. "Some Alterans were known to have some special gifts, like healing or telekinesis."

"Well, I feel much better..." Astrid closed her eyes and accessed her enhancements. "... and if I am not mistaken, the plague seems to have disappeared."

"Well, it seems we have a cure." Lilith said.

-x-x-x-

While Priscilla was able to heal all of the infected in the following days, there was something she could not do. She could not heal herself.

"I don't understand," Astrid snarled. "Why can she heal everyone else, but not heal herself."

"The offering of a clone still remains," Heimdall said.

"Even if I were to ... copy my mind into a clone, I would still die."

"I do not understand." Heimdall stated.

"You consider the original and the clone as the same person, do you not?" Lilith asked.

"Yes."

"Well, we do not," Lilith stated. At the Asgard's blink of confusion, the Eratan Empress continued. "For us, the two entities, the original and the clone the mind was copied to, are two separate entities."

Heimdall was silent for a long moment. Finally she asked, "Why?"

"You know of Loki's doings, do you not?"

"I am aware."

"So you know that he cloned my daughter, Erika and created a clone - Astrid. To us, they are two separate entities. They share the same genetic makeup, the same memories - up to a point, but they are two different people."

Heimdall fell silent for a few long minutes. "Were an Asgard individual be separated into two copies and the two gained different sets of experiences, they would transfer the mind of one into the other at some point. Am I to understand that other races, that do not have the same technology and understanding of our technology would consider such individuals as different?" At the nods she received, the Asgard nodded. "In that case, I still do not see the problem. A Clone of Priscilla might be able to heal the original."

"That's actually a really good idea," Lilith nodded.

"I don't think that could happen," Priscilla said. "If my ability appeared in others of my kind and they were able to heal the plague of an Alteran, then the plague wouldn't have been such a problem. That means that they were unable to heal it in this way, that a clone of me will be unable to heal me."

"But why would it work on me, but not on you?" Astrid asked.

"Because it was engineered in this way. That other life forms besides Alteran were affected, was incidental. The target was the Alteran race. From our tests, the plague was engineered to recognize artificial cures and improve itself to combat them."

At these words, Lilith drew in a sharp breath and her eyes widened. Priscilla cocked her head in curiosity, but Lilith made a sign for her to continue. "I've just had an idea, but I want to test it first."

-x-x-x-

Lilith walked on the science vessel's bridge. Supreme Commander," Lilith nodded politely. "I would like to speak with the outpost."

The Asgard nodded and opened a connection with the Eratan Outpost.

"Lady."

"Agmund, I want you to send for a few Goa'uld symbiotes."

The Outpost Commander nodded. "It will be done."

"You intent to bring Goa'uld symbiotes on this vessel?" Thor asked.

"Yes," Lilith nodded. "I believe that a symbiote would be able to do better against the plague than our current cures."

"But we used Goa'uld symbiote cells, and they were only marginally effective."

"Exactly, but the original batch of cells were Eratan. The following ones were heavily modified with Asgard tech. They should have been more effective than the Eratan template, but they were not. We have a theory."

The Asgard cocked his head in curiosity.

"We think that the plague is capable of recognizing artificial cures and it can change itself to combat them. If that is so, it may be that the plague is not as good at dealing with natural cures. I hope that by introducing advanced cures along with a more natural one, we can trick the plague into ignoring the natural cure."

Thor nodded.

-x-x-x-

'This could be the cure,' Lilith told Maya. 'The more advanced our cures were, the worse they worked. The only thing that was somewhat effective was the Goa'uld symbiote cells.'

In the water tank in front of her, a Goa'uld symbiote was swimming in agitation, as if it knew its fate.

'So you're thinking that a true symbiote, one that wasn't engineered, would be able to completely heal the plague?'

'Yes.'

'So, where would we take the Goa'uld that would heal Priscilla, from?'

'Well, we could take one of these Goa'uld and implant it.'

'That wouldn't be so smart. It could decide to kill her if it realized that we were only using it to heal Priscilla,' Maya pointed out.

'We could use a Tok'ra.'

'We'd have to find one first, and I don't know if the Asgard would be willing to find one for us.'

'That wouldn't be too hard. After all, we do have their greatest treasure. The problem is, would we want her under their influence? What if they blend?'

'And the third choice...?'

'I've always wondered if I will have children of my own. It always makes me frightened. If I were to become a queen, what would my spawn be? Would they inherit my emotional detachment from my genetic memories? If they did, would they feel the same way about the genetic memories of my true memories as I feel for my own ancestral memories? Would they choose my path? The Goa'uld path? The Tok'ra one? Would they be my true children, or would they bide their time, waiting for the moment to stab me in the back?'

'But if the Asgard cloned you and copied your memories, you wouldn't need to fear that.'

'Wouldn't I?'

'Would a copy of you try to usurp your place?' Maya wondered. 'And if she had a better host.'

'Not better,' Lilith protested. 'You're perfect as you are.'

'A smarter and more genetically advanced host, then,' Maya continued. 'Would she want your place? If she wanted something, would you deny her? If she, or Erika or Astrid, for that matter, would want worlds of their own, would you deny them? Does being the supreme Empress matter so much to you, or would you share your power.'

'You know that there is little I wouldn't do for them.'

'And would she - another you, be willing to share power? Would she be willing to obey you, even if she was inhabiting the body of an Alteran?'

'Had I found Bastet worthy, I would have served her faithfully,' Lilith said.

'Would another you harm you? Or me? Or our daughters? Or our dream?'

'No.'

'Then the only question is if we should create a sister that will be put in danger.'

'I understand. She will understand,' Lilith said with certainty. 'And if this will not work, I will have her put into stasis. Eventually we will be able to heal her, even if it takes eons to do it.'

'Then let us give our proposal. If she accepts, the least we can expect is saving an ally.'

-x-x-x-

Lilith entered the main lab with a smile on her face. "I believe I have a way to cure the plague."

Everyone turned their eyes toward the Goa'uld. "You do?" Astrid asked hopefully.

"Yes. From our tests, we know that technologically advanced cures do not work very well."

"I am confident that we will find a way around the plague's ability to overcome our technology," Heimdall interjected.

"Perhaps," Lilith nodded. "However, what about a cure that wasn't technologically advanced? The plague doesn't appear to attack Priscilla's advanced immune system that much. Also, the plague was somewhat slowed by our symbiote cells. What if it wasn't programmed to act against organisms that weren't specifically designed to combat them? What if a Goa'uld would slip under the plague's notice? It could be that enhancements, an Alteran natural immune system and a Goa'uld symbiote combined would be able to cure the plague. I have already tested the plague on a Goa'uld symbiote and it was able to overcome the plague. Even if the plague was especially designed against Alterans, perhaps a Goa'uld symbiote will be able to heal her."

'That is... possible," Heimdall said. "At the very least, it would not have any negative health effects. However, what Goa'uld would we choose? I doubt you would be willing to."

"I see three choices," Lilith said. "We could use a normal Goa'uld to heal her. I assume you can extract it safely?"

"If the Goa'uld were unconscious, yes," Heimdall said. "However, there are many ways a conscious Goa'uld would be able to harm its host, poisoning being the least of them. A Goa'uld is also capable of causing massive internal damage to its host. And to help heal the plague, the Goa'uld symbiote would have to not only be conscious, but also consciously try to cure the host."

"The second possibility would be to get one of the Tok'ra for this," Lilith stated. "And the third would be ... a clone of myself."

Heimdall cocked her head in confusion. "Why would you do that?"

"Several reasons. I would have a sister that would not have the insanity and megalomania of my kin, one that I would be able to fully trust. Also, I would help a ...friend and possible future ally, someone my daughter cares for."

"And would you... the other you," Heimdall corrected herself, "be willing to change host after the plague is cured?"

"Yes," Lilith replied. "I have no desire for an unwilling host. There are plenty of my people who would be willing to serve as a host. However, it may be," Lilith looked at Priscilla, "That she and my sister may not wish to be separated. Both host and symbiote will have to remain conscious to fight the plague effectively. Blending ... mental contamination is possible. Such a melding of the mind can produce a deep mental bond."

"And you would gain an Alteran host," Heimdall said accusingly.

"As the symbiote has access to the host, so does the host has access to the mind of the symbiote." Lilith stared at Priscilla. "You will be able to judge for your own if the symbiote is worthy of your partnership. And the Asgard will be able to check if the symbiote is controlling you. I would be your choice, but my hope is that you will choose to fully blend. "I do not only offer this so that I would have access to an Alteran host, though. You are an important person for my daughter and I am in your debt for healing her and my people. If I can help you in this way, I will."

Priscilla stared at Lilith for a few long moments, glanced at Astrid and nodded slowly. "I accept your offer, Empress Lilith. Thank you."

-x-x-x-

It did not take long for Heimdall to create a clone of Lilith and the rest of the preparations to be ready.

Priscilla was staring at the cloned symbiote that was swimming in a small water tank.

Lilith opened a sarcophagus. "Ready?"

The Alteran unclothed and nodded silently. She climbed into the sarcophagus. "I am ready."

At Priscilla's pronouncement, a viscous liquid started to fill the sarcophagus.

"After the implantation is completed, you will need to submerge and breathe in. If this works as planned, the enhancements and the plague will fight while the symbiote heals you."

Astrid put her hand in the water tank, and the symbiote wrapped around the hand. The princess moved toward Priscilla and presented the symbiote.

The Alteran held her hands out and Astrid let the symbiote drop in the hands of its future host.

Priscilla brought her hands to her head and opened her mouth. The symbiote jumped in and burrowed into her flesh. The Alteran's eyes flashed golden and she gave Astrid a small smile before plunging her head under the viscous liquid.

-x-x-x-

Thor transported into Heimdall lab. "I understand that Priscilla's treatment is about to end."

"Indeed," Heimdall stated. "We have continued to supply nono-bots into her bloodstream for the past twelve hours. While the plague fought off the medical nano-bots, the symbiote was completely ignored and was able to cleanse the plague.

The sarcophagus opened and Priscilla stood up, coughed out the liquid in her lungs and opened her eyes. Her eyes flashed golden and Lilith came close to her clone-sister and held her hand out. "Welcome sister," the Eratan Empress said.

The newly awakened women gently closed her hand around the host of her original. "Thank you, sister... Maya. I am Cybele."

"May we talk with Priscilla?" Thor asked.

"Of course," Cybele said. The Goa'uld closed her eyes and the expression on Priscilla's face changed subtly, becoming softer. "Thor, Heimdall, thank you for your help."

"It is the least we could do for one of our old allies," Thor replied. "Will your symbiote require another host? We are prepare to clone Maya's body and copy into her the mind of the original."

Priscilla shook her head. "That will not be necessary. Cybele and I have blended. Both of us wish to remain together. You may of course run any test to prove that I say this of my free will."

"That will not be necessary," Thor said. "Our sensors can detect whether the host or the symbiote is in command of the body. If you ever are in need of our assistance," the Asgard held his hand out with an Asgard device, in his palm, "you may contact us with this device."

"Thank you, Thor."

-x-x-x-


	25. Chapter 25 Aschen 1

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 25.**

**Aschen part 1.**

**x-x-x-**

**1809 AD, Tau'ri, somewhere over Antarctica.**

"Base, this is Turok. I believe I found something."

"What is it?" the answer of a comm. officer answered.

"I do not know. It's something our new sensors are unable to penetrate."

"There's nothing Asgard sensors can't penetrate."

"Except perhaps Alteran shielding?"

"Turok, this is Agmund. Keep scanning. I'm sending the rest of the scouts at your location."

"Understood."

**-x-x-x-**

**1809 AD, Tau'ri, Alteran Outpost.**

Priscilla - last of the Altera looked around in wonder at the crystalline structure of the outpost. "So this is what an Alteran building looks like."

"It's beautiful," Erika said with the same wonder. "We've been looking for this ever since we found you."

The two scientists walked toward the control chair. Priscilla touched the chair with her armored hand, but nothing happened.

"We'll have to touch it with our bare hands to activate it," Erika said.

"Princess, I must protest," Zyr'na said quickly.

"Was this place deemed secure?" Erika asked.

"Yes," the bodyguard said reluctantly. "But last time, our healers were unable to find the plague until it was too late.

"And we've been far more careful than the last time," Erika said. "We've had two weeks to scour this place for any trace of the plague and we found nothing."

"Very well," the bodyguard sighed.

"... Zyr'na?" Priscilla said slowly.

"My Lady?"

"You gave up too easy."

"I did? If this is so, I apologize."

"You appear to forget that what Lilith knew, Cybele knows. And what Cybele knows, I know."

"My Lady?"

"I am quite sure that you wouldn't have let us take off our suits so easy. You would have done it first, or had someone else do it before you would have been comfortable with letting us be exposed to such risks."

"Indeed."

"You've already had someone take off their suit, didn't you?" Erika guessed.

"I assure you My Lady, princess, that they volunteered."

"This is still uncomfortable," Priscilla said.

"What? Fanatical loyalty?" Erika asked. "Don't worry, you'll get over it."

"My beloved host sometimes forgets," Cybele's distorted voice added, "that Eratna is an Empire. And we are the Imperial Family."

"And if she won't try to stay safe for your Goa'uld survival instincts, she'd better stay safe because her station demands it," Erika laughed.

"Indeed, my daughter." Cybele's helmet retracted and the armor over her right hand shimmered and flowed up, revealing her arm." The Goa'uld returned control to her host, who put her arm on the control chair.

The chair activated and Priscilla sat on it and closed her eyes.

"I have good news and bad news," the Alteran said after a while. "The good news is that the chair's database is in perfect working order and we have over six thousand Pesqua."

"And the bad news?" Erika asked.

"The Potentia is almost depleted. I am currently conserving power by using only the critical systems of the chair."

"It's to be expected," Erika sighed. "This outpost was cloaked for thousands of years. It's to be expected for the power source to be close to depleted."

"We can use a naqahdah generator to power the chair, Priscilla said. "I am also finding the list of a great deal of Alteran outposts. We should be able to find more Potentia and Alteran artifacts."

"That's good," Erika said.

"Unfortunately, it is quite possible that any Potentia we find is going to be close to empty or even empty."

"That won't be that much of a problem," Erika said. "What knowledge we have on the Potentia construction process makes it clear that we are nowhere near enough to start building them of our own. It might be that even the Asgard would find impossible to build them. It would be good if we find a few, but it is not as important as what a working chair can give us. We've been struggling to explore as much as we did, but now, we have an entire database with all sorts of information."

"And on that note," Priscilla said, "I believe I found something important."

"What?"

"I found quite a few new stargate addresses. In particular, I found a few addresses near Refuge. And some of them are in the direction of our mysterious enemy."

"I... see..."

**-x-x-x-**

**1809 AD, Refuge.**

Ghost entered the meeting room and nodded at the fellow commander that was already present. "Dagoth."

"Ghost," the man nodded back.

The two men waited in silence for the room to be filled by Infiltrators and Shock Troops. Ghost glanced at the Shock Troops Commander, who gave him a nod to begin. Ghost cleared his throat and started to speak. "You are all here to be informed of an operation we will make in two years. We have discovered an Alteran chair and we found out the location of most of the planets where the Alterans put a Stargate. As you know we have an enemy that infected one of our outposts with a plague. We suspect we know the general location he is located, and we found the location of Stargates in that general location. It may very well be that our enemy is on such a world. We will not be attempting to attack through the Stargate. However, many stealth probes were sent towards those locations. They will exit hyperspace far outside the systems and make a pass through the Solar Systems. They will be cloaked and only use passive sensors. Our scientists think it is highly possible that one of those worlds belongs to our enemy. Once the data the probes gathered comes in, we will select a suitable target, if there is one. The Infiltrators and an ELF will be inserted in enemy territory. Our mission is to gain as much knowledge as we can, on the enemy. We will attempt to do it without showing ourselves."

"Unfortunately, that may not be possible," Dagoth added. "We know nothing on the enemy. We will attempt to launch our operation against the weakest side of the enemy we find. Unfortunately, that may not be possible. Or it might be they have no weak sides."

"The best case scenario is that we infiltrate the enemy," Ghost said. "The ELF gets the data we need and we pull out without even letting them know we were there."

"That, however, may not be possible," Dagoth said. "It may be that we can not get the information we need without a fight. If we can't, then we will attempt to leave no witnesses. If that is the case, the shock troops will attack any ground forces and any ship we manage to board. A small fleet of Stealth Bombers, Stealth Gliders and Daggers will be providing us assistance."

"You all have been selected for this mission. For the next two years, you'll be trained for this..."

**-x-x-x-**

**1810 AD, Refuge Sector, Unknown System.**

Far beyond the System, twenty probes burst into existence. The exit from hyper-space was done as gently as it was possible and so far from the System that even if it had the same sensor coverage as Refuge and Eratna combined, the probes would have remained undetected.

The probes' cloak fields already engaged, accelerated slowly toward the closest sun. Once they reached 20 percents of the speed of light, the probes stopped accelerating, flying on a ballistic course through the System.

The probes entered the outer system 70 days later. Slowly, they passed through the system, recording with their passive sensors anything they could find. They detected a habitable world with no signs of advanced technology. However, they also found a ship in high orbit over the planet. Five days later, they finished their pass, but continued for another 70 days before entering hyper-space and returning to base.

**-x-x-x-**

**1811 AD, Refuge Sector, Unknown System.**

Far beyond the System, twenty probes burst into existence.

Unlike the probes in other Systems, they immediately detected a strong technological presence. The vast majority of the sources were toward the system, with most of them concentrated around a habitable world. There were other sources, most of them grouped in small clusters around other planets, moons and asteroids. There were also sources scattered around the system and even beyond. Most of them were small - the size of an Eratan defense satellite, but there were a few that were larger - approaching 100 tons of displacement. Half of them were deployed in-system and spherically around the solar system, but the rest were scattered out-system. None of the probes exited hyper-space closer than ten billion kilometers of what the probes' computers labeled as sensor platforms.

As they approached the outer system, the probes began to detect other objecs. There were at least a million objects the size of an Eratan defense satellite, but these were the most insignificant part of the massive defense system. There were many massive fortifications, a third of them with active shields online. Most of the fortifications were between 20 and 50 million tons of displacements, but there were some that were even more massive, at 100 million tons. There was even a 200 million tons, half completed, fortification. The probes faithfully recorded their findings and continued unmolested through the system.

**-x-x-x-**

**1812 AD, Refuge Sector, Unknown System.**

"Are we there yet?"

Ghost glanced at the speaker and shook his head. "Varon, you appear to forget what we are."

"Yes, commander," the man replied with a sigh, "Infiltrators don't know the meaning of the word boring."

"If we're feeling like this, imagine how the Shock Troops are faring," a petite, Asian female calmly pointed out.

"You're right, Miko," the Infiltrator sighed. "Shock Troupers are probably feeling a lot worse than we do."

"Speak for yourself," Miko replied. "This is nothing compared to the training I, or any other members of my clan, received as children on Tau'ri."

"Damn ninjas," Varon mumbled.

"Varon," Ghost chuckled, "no need to be mean. In any case, your wait is about to end. We're about to land."

**-x-x-x-**

Five stealth bombers landed on the uninhabited side of the planet. One of them transported the Infiltrators and their equipment. Two of them transported the Shock Troops, (that hopefully,) would not be needed. The last two bombers were modified to carry fifty Daggers for ground support.

Ghost disembarked and hoped that the ground forces would not be needed. If they were forced to intervene, the small fleet of stealth bombers and Stealth Gliders that were waiting in the System's asteroid belt would also have to intervene. And if that happened, his infiltrators would have difficulties with gathering the Intel they were sent for.

Ghost moved to meet face-to-face with Dagoth. "I'll have my people begin our mission."

The Shock Troop commander nodded. "Very well. I'll have this place secured. If the enemy detects us or your Infiltrators, we'll be ready."

**-x-x-x-**

"So, what do we have?" Ghost asked.

Miko's face turned even more frozen than it was. "I was able to process all the data our spy drones gathered."

Ghost nodded at Adhara - the ELF that possessed his petite Asian Infiltrator. "The inhabitants of this world are the Volian. Their level of technology was half a century to a century more advanced than that of the Tau'ri when they were first approached by the Aschen, seven years ago. The Volians were suffering from a terrible plague. The Aschen cured them of this plague and invited them into their Confederation. Since then, the Aschen have been providing them with better technology. This has been concentrated on their agricultural technology. The Volians are now farming more and more of their world - far more than they need to feed themselves. This surplus is sold to the Aschen. With this income, the Volians continue to buy more technology from the Aschen and advance their technological level.

"These Aschen do not sound like our enemy," Ghost said. "It could very well be that the Aschen are the enemies of our enemies. Was there anything you found out that could tell us if the Aschen are the enemy?"

"A few," the ELF replied. "The Aschen are extremely advanced in genetic engineering."

"That could mean that they are the enemy, or it could mean that they were also hit by our enemy, and they were forced to learn how to defend themselves."

"There is one important inconsistency," Adhara added. "The Volian's birth rates, appear to be inconsistent with their current numbers."

"Wrong how?"

"The numbers are ten times lower than they should be for their population."

"Well, it could be that they are limiting it on purpose."

"Negative," The ELF said. "Many females have been trying to conceive a child. If there is something that is limiting their growth rate, the Volians are unaware of it."

"I see," Ghost nodded. "Well, we do have a few healers with us." We'll have to collect a few blood samples and see if there is something wrong.

**-x-x-x-**

"What did you find out?" Ghost asked his senior healer three days later.

"The Volians have something similar to our enhancements," the healer said. "They have biological enhancements that function in similar ways to our own enhancements. These enhancements double the lifespan of the Volians and render them immune to most illnesses. However there is one more thing that they do. They induce sterility in most cases and reduce fertility in the rest."

"Sterility?"

"Yes, Commander. We estimate that the current growth rates are ten percent of what they were before the Aschen came."

Ghost dismissed the healer before turning his attention to his Lieutenants. "Varon? Miko? What do you think?"

"I think this is suspicious." Varon said. "I think we should grab one of these Aschen and see what they have to say about this."

"Adhara and I agree with Varon," Miko said. "We need more info. Aschen technicians visit Volian farms regularly. It would be easy to kidnap one of them."

Ghost nodded. "Unfortunately, they might not know anything about whatever is going on. We should also capture one of their healers. We'll have to infiltrate one of their cities, but we shouldn't have too much trouble with the actual kidnapping. I'm more concerned about making them suspicious. Unfortunately, we'll just have to risk it."

**-x-x-x-**

Ghost looked at the sleeping faces of three prisoners. "Who's the third?"

"Security guard," Miko said. "I had to choose between killing and disposing of the body or taking him with us. I decided that we'd be able to get more information if we also had one of their soldiers."

Ghost nodded. "Yes, good work." The commander nodded at the healers. "You may begin."

"The healers approached the unconscious prisoners and gave them an injection. "The Brain Interlinks should come online in a few minutes," one of them said. "Adhara will be able to quickly process the data."

**-x-x-x-**

"Well?" Ghost asked a few hours later.

"The minds of the Aschen are... different," Adhara said.

"Different how?"

"They are too orderly, too rigid. The Aschen feel little - the desire to obey their rulers mostly. Their other feelings are barely present and suppressed. They have little to no imagination, no curiosity."

"Isn't it a little weird for an ELF to say that?" Varon asked. "I'd have thought that they'd be your kind of people."

"That is incorrect," the ELF replied. "We have curiosity, we have imagination, it is in our nature to change and improve. We do have a powerful desire to protect our kind, but it is not slavish obedience. And despite what you may think Varon, we do have feelings."

"Well... uh... I'm sorry if I offended your feelings."

"You have not. It is true that from your limited ability to see beyond physical desires, we might appear to have no feelings."

"I think Miko's personality is starting to rub on you."

The possessed Infiltrator stared at Varon for a few seconds. "True," the ELF said. "The practice of sharing a body has also brought new thought patterns to us. We are now able to understand your minds better, especially those of us who have dwelled within your minds. However, even without this close interaction, we do have what you call feelings, though they do not rule us as they do with many of your kind. They are however far more pure and mental than someone like you would be able to comprehend."

"Commander?" Varon glanced at Ghost, "She's insulting me again, isn't she?"

"What else were you able to find?" Ghost asked the ELF, ignoring Varon's question.

"The security guard knows little beyond what he needs to perform his duty. He has no specific knowledge of what the Aschen are doing here. The same applies to the engineer. The healer however, has some knowledge. The Aschen spread the plague the Volians were suffering of. They also healed them. The cure used to treat the plague, defend from other illnesses and extend their lifetimes was engineered by the Aschen to also produce sterility."

"Why?"

"He never wondered why the Aschen do what they do," the ELF said. "I am unable to find something that isn't there. I was however, able to draw certain reasons from the general knowledge they have on their society. I have concluded that they are here to conquer this world and turn it into an agricultural world. They need massive amounts of food to feed their people. The number of Aschen exceeds 36 billion."

"I ...see," Ghost nodded thoughtfully. "Did you get anything on whether or not the Aschen were the ones who attacked our research outpost?"

"Negative. The prisoners do not have this data."

"Do you know who does?"

"Our best option would be their cruiser. There are high ranking Aschen on it. They also have their databases there."

"Can you hack in?"

"Without my physical presence, such an attack would be severely limited. A long range attack is unlikely to fully succeed. A long range attack has too great a chance of being detected and stopped. The data I gathered from the engineer, suggests that my physical presence is needed on their vessel in order to gain full access to their database."

"I see," Ghost grunted.

"I guess it's good we have one of their soldiers," Varon said. "We'll need to know everything about that ship. We might have to use the Shock Troops. It would be a good idea if we knew where their database and the bridge is."

Ghost raised an eyebrow "Oh?"

Varon nodded seriously. "We need to keep them away from those places... And the engineering..." Varon glanced at his suit. "You know, now I really understand why we have these Suits now. When those..."

Ghost coughed.

"... excitable fellows, shoot the hell out of the hull of the ship, I'll be really glad I can survive half an hour in the vacuum of space. Uh commander... you think half an hour is enough?"

"It will have to suffice," Ghost said. "The next generation of suits is still in testing."

Varon made a disgusting face. "I tested one of those. It was horrible."

"Coughing liquid from your lungs is never pleasant," Ghost agreed with a nod.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: A little later than my usual one per month update. Sorry about that. The good news though, is that I have 2600 words of the next chapter... I ... uh ... just have to write the beginning of the chapter.

The Aschen ark will be 3 to 4 chapters long, (probably). I consider this ark quite important...with consequences(some good, some bad, some really bad... and some... well ... some will be kind of creepy... but that's getting into my planned spin-off into SGA) that will span throughout the entire fic.

**I'll be putting a character, location, tech and ship list for EitS on my bio. I'll be updating it as I publish each new chapter.**

Thank you for reading,

-voider-

Published: 22 October 2010.


	26. Chapter 26 Aschen 2

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 26.**

**Aschen part 2.**

**x-x-x-**

**1812 AD, Volia.**

Three Aschen engineers stepped on the ramp to the shuttle that would fly them back to the Aschen cruiser. They passed the security guards and wordlessly took their seats.

A figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the shuttle. Lightning burst from her into the hull before dissipating. The figure immediately turned towards the engineers, hands pointed at them. Lightning flashed again. This time, it was not an ELF, but energy wrist weapons that worked on the same principle as a Zat'ni'katel.

Miko fired again and the Aschen engineers were vaporized. She turned her head towards the security guards, to see that Varon and the two Infiltrators tasked with dealing with them had already done their job, destroying them. Once she assured herself that the only remaining Aschen were the pilots in their cabins, Miko turned her attention towards the locked door that separated them from control over the shuttle.

The door opened, no doubt thanks to Adhara, and she saw two flashes of lightning. Ghost shut off his cloaking field and appeared at the door. "Adhara, do you have control over the shuttle?" he asked the empty air.

A voice came over the shuttle's internal comm., "Affirmative."

Ghost nodded and opened a comm. channel to Dagoth. "Target secured."

A minute later, the rest of the Infiltrator squad and three Shock Troop squads started to embark on the shuttle. Once the shuttle was filled, it took off.

Ghost would have wanted more than a squad of Infiltrators and three of Shock Troops for securing the Aschen cruiser, but the shuttle couldn't take more passengers, and they couldn't use more than a shuttle for their plan. Had they taken over another shuttle, they couldn't have used it due to the fact that the shuttles had their flight orders given by the cruiser. If a shuttle took off without permission, the Aschen would find it suspicious.

They would have to deal with the situation with their limited forces. At least, this way, the less critical ground attacks would have enough forces to perform their objectives without problems.

**-x-x-x-**

**1812 AD, high orbit above Volia.**

"Commander Ghost, we are onboard the cruiser," the ELF said over the comm. "I have subverted the boat bay computers and infiltrated the ship's systems. I have limited control over the ship's doors and general low-level access. Estimated time till detection - six minutes."

"Acknowledged."

The ELF jumped back into Miko, leaving only a small part of itself behind, to keep hiding the Eratans.

The Infiltrators cloaked and the shuttle door opened. They moved out and spread through the boat bay. The Eratan Infiltrators found new targets - security guards and the techs that were working on maintenance. In one swift stroke, the Infiltrators opened fire. They checked the cargo bay again, looking for any survivors. Finding none, they headed towards the door, which opened.

"Each time Adhara opens a door for us, the risk of discovery increases," Miko informed her fellow Infiltrators.

"Then we must hurry," Ghost said.

The infiltrators moved out, and at the first intersection Varon and six Infiltrators split off, heading towards the engineering room. Ghost, Miko and three more Infiltrators continued together.

A minute later, Ghost and one of the Infiltrators split off, heading towards the bridge. Miko and the two remaining Infiltrators continued toward the computers room.

"Varon's team was discovered," Miko told her two companions two minutes later. Another door opened and they moved on. "The Aschen discovered Adhara's infiltration." They reached another door, but this one did not open. "We no longer have access to the doors."

One of the Infiltrators slapped a small rectangular box on the door. The Infiltrators moved back and ducked behind an intersection.

The N2 micro-bomb activated. The bomb's tiny naqahdah-naquadria reactor went on-line. Thirteen small micro shield generators activated around the power generator, covering it in five shielded faces, but leaving the sixth unshielded. The power generator went critical. The explosion expanded and met the shields, which held out long enough so that most of the explosion was directed towards the door.

The Infiltrators moved on as soon as the explosion was over.

**-x-x-x-**

Ghost blew the door to the bridge, threw a few stun grenades and rushed in, ready to stun any officer who was still conscious. Finding only dazed Aschen, Ghost stunned them, knowing that they should be preserved for interrogation.

Ghost waited for the most critical parts of the plan to be completed.

"This is Varon. Engineering room secured, but we are under attack," Ghost heard over the comm. "Requesting backup."

"This is Miko," Miko added over the comm. "Computer room secured. Adhara is taking control of the ship, but it will take a few minutes. Heavy Aschen forces are approaching our locations."

"This is Ghost," Ghost said. "Bridge secured. Commander Dagoth, provide back-up and pacify the ship."

**-x-x-x-**

"Understood!" Dagoth said. Now that the Infiltrators had control over the vital areas of the ship, especially of the engineering room, where the ship's power generators were located, Dagoth's troops were free to attack without risking a panicked self-destruct order from the Aschen. The Shock Troop commander looked at his troops. "You know what to do. Move out!"

As one, the Shock Troops activated their Dark Shrouds and shields.

Two of the squads headed towards the boat bay's doors, but Dagoth's squad pointed their heavy plasma weapons at a wall in the direction of the engineering room. As one, they opened fire and the wall exploded in a shower of molten metal and hot pieces of Aschen battle-armor.

Dagoth's squad sped through the hole, ignoring the heavy drops of the molten metal that fell through the Dark Shrouds and rapidly cooled.

**-x-x-x-**

Varon was firing at the constant trickle of Aschen soldiers that were trying to retake the engineering room. At first, it was relatively easy to deal with the Aschen, but now, they were beginning to adapt to their ways of fighting. It had taken a while, and quite a few Aschen, but the enemy soldiers now took a few precautions against the Infiltrators.

At first, they were attacked by unshielded and light weapons.

Now though, the new Aschen reinforcements had donned armor. Some of them had full body shields and the rest had portable flat shields. They had energy weapons strong enough to threaten the Infiltrators shields.

Varon threw a stun grenade through the door. Unlike the first few times he did this, the front ranks of the Aschen soldiers put their shields in front of them, ducked, and covered their heads. The grenade detonated in a blast of light and sound, but the Aschen were only slightly disoriented.

Varon swore, and threw a different grenade. "Fire in the hole!"

The Infiltrators took cover and waited for the huge blast from the N2 grenade to dissipate.

The explosion had punched through the shields of the front Aschen. The enemies behind them had also suffered some damage, but they were recovering. The Aschen stopped firing and moved back. For a moment Varon thought they were retreating.

The Aschen formed ranks and Varon felt a chill down his spine. The enemies made a step forward, then another.

Varon understood what they were going to do. They were just going to march forward, letting the front ranks soak the damage. In the end, the Aschen would gain a foothold in the engineering room. Varon's Infiltrators could defend a choke point, but if the enemies got in, he'd lose.

"Fire N2 grenades, now!" Varon shouted. Seven naqahdah-naquadria grenades were thrown at the ranks of Aschen. They hit the enemy shields and exploded. The Infiltrators ducked down and their shields' strained to protect them from the edge of the blast. Varon could feel the shockwave from the blast travel through the floor, fracturing the battle-armor of the ship. A piece of shrapnel slammed into his shield and broke through. It hit his armor and fortunately, passed only halfway through it. Slowly, the shields begun to recharge and Varon breathed in relief.

He took a peak at the enemy Aschen and froze. The Aschen were as decimated as the walls. Their front ranks had been vaporized. Behind them, there was a mass of broken and burned bodies. Further back, there were injured soldiers, most of whom had the majority of their skin burned off.

Those soldiers rose to their feet and shambled forward.

Varon was about to order another N2 salvo, but he saw that the Aschen ranks were turning back.

A N2 grenade detonated out of sight and Varon breathed in relief. Their back-up was here.

He could almost see the darkening of the corridor the enemy forces were in - a clear sign that the big guns were there.

Varon could hear the rhythmic blasts of heavy plasma weapons and the weak (by comparison) return fire from the Aschen. He couldn't help himself and checked his suit to see if he would die due to lack of oxygen if the ... maniacs shot the cruiser full of holes.

Eratan Shock Troops were the most defended Eratan soldiers. Only the Imperial family and the highest ranked Eratan Commanders were as well defended as they were.

Their heavy shields, the Dark Shrouds that virtually drained the energy around them and the heaviest armored suits, sometimes, (or most of the times,) made them forget that not everyone or everything was as well defended as they were. Their offense was even worse. Varon's use of N2 mines was not something that an Infiltrator would use lightly.

The Shock Troops however, were expected to use them regularly. Normally they wouldn't have been used for a boarding action. Their standard weapons were as powerful as the newest Eratan Death Glider weapons, and the chance that they would blow up the ship they were trying to capture, meant that it would be better to use them somewhere else, like on a planet.

Unfortunately, they didn't have a choice. They needed to deal with the Aschen swiftly, before they managed to send off a signal or they somehow managed to destroy the ship. Normal Eratan soldiers with normal weapons and suits, (and a normal sense of survival,) could never plow through the Cruiser's defenses like the Shock Troops.

Ghost heard another N2 mine detonate and hoped Dagoth remembered that blowing the engineering room might lead to the destruction of the Cruiser.

**-x-x-x-**

Dagoth fired at yet another Aschen soldier. The shot of his heavy plasma canon broke through the Aschen's shield as if it was paper, proceeded to create a large hole through the soldier's torso, and slammed into another shield. The shield held, though only briefly as the blast of an N2 mine incinerated the back of the enemy soldier.

Dagoth stepped forward, ignoring the N2 blast and idly wondered at the warped corridor in front of him. It looked as if it took quite a few N2 mines at the same times. Walking forward through the ashes of his enemies, he thought that maybe some of the dammed spooks could fight after all.

Once the engineering room was secured, Dagoth raised Ghost over the comm.. "Commander Ghost, the engineering room is pacified."

"Good. Leave some of your people to defend it and continue."

**-x-x-x-**

**1813 AD, Refuge, Briefing Room.**

"After our recent mission to Volia, we have finally managed to get Intel on our Enemy. They are the Aschen," Ghost proclaimed to the room filled by various Commanders. "On a galactic scale, they are quite close to Refuge. A hologram of the region of space around Refuge appeared. We first met them here," Ghost pointed at a star, thirteen hundred parsecs away from Refuge. "Nine hundred parsecs away, from there, we have one of their Secondary worlds. Thanks to the knowledge provided by the Alteran Chair from the Tau'ri outpost, our infiltrators and probes managed to get a great amount of information on them."

"The Aschen Confederation is comprised from nineteen worlds with a combined population of over forty-seven billions. Their homeworld - Aschen Prime has a population of over thirty-four billions. Most of the rest of the population - eleven more billions, live on four secondary worlds. The rest of their population is scattered over their other worlds."

"Most of the Aschen population is comprised of Gamma Lines. Each Gamma Line is bred for a specific job. They are obedient drones genetically designed and brainwashed into slavish obedience toward the Beta and Alpha Lines. They barely have feelings, imagination ... or humor. The Beta lines are the Administrators, scientists, officers and there are about eighty millions of them. Unlike the Gamma Lines, the Beta Lines can somewhat think for themselves, but they too, appear to be slavishly loyal to the Alpha Lines. The leaders of the Aschen are the Alpha Lines. It is they that are our true enemy. Their exact numbers are unknown, but we estimate that their numbers are somewhere between ten thousand and a hundred thousands. They usually stay on Aschen Prime. Unfortunately, we only have only general knowledge on them. We only know that they are the leaders of the Aschen Confederation."

"Scientifically, the Aschen are generally around our own level of technology. They excel in food production, genetic manipulation, medical techniques, terraforming, computers and power generators. Fortunately for us, it appears that naqahdah has little use for the Aschen. Technologically, their power generators are quite a bit more advanced than our own, but our naqahdah generators are more efficient and compact, despite their technological inferiority."

"One of our advantages is that the Aschen, (like the Goa'uld,) prefer to mine planets. They have few orbital mines and factories."

"Most of their worlds are used for food and raw resources that are transported to their secondary planets and Aschen Prime."

"Despite their huge population, economy and industrial capacity, they appear to spend relatively few resources to their military forces. They prefer biologic warfare. However, that doesn't mean that they have no military. Their ground forces, though small compared to their total population are still quite numerous - over sixty million genetically engineered and highly trained soldiers. Their navy, if it could even be called that, is tiny. Their biggest ship is a battleship the size of our Fortresses - a little over 35 million tons of displacement. Most of their ships are cruisers that have a displacement of 7 million tons - a tenth the size of a Goa'uld mothership. Their destroyers are around a million tons and their scouts ten times smaller than a destroyer. Our Intel says that they have around 60 battleships, 150 cruisers, 80 destroyers and 20 scouts. Their ships are not very powerful. Ton per ton, standard Goa'uld vessels should be 10 to 15 percent better than Aschen ships. However small their fleet is though, the fixed defenses over their planets are extremely strong. They have various automated defenses. Their smallest are spherical defense satellites with a displacement of 4 thousand tons, and their biggest of 100 million tons. Their smaller worlds are relatively lightly defended; most of them with less than a billion tons of defenses, but each of their secondary worlds have over 10 billion tons of defenses. And Aschen Prime has over 130 billion tons. Ton-per-ton, Aschen planetary defenses are on par with standard Goa'uld Ha'taks, so that would mean that one of their lightly defended worlds would have the equivalent of 10 to 20 Ha'taks. Each of their secondary worlds would have the equivalent of 150 to 200 Ha'taks. Aschen Prime would have the equivalent of 2000 Ha'taks."

"Our greatest advantage is that the Aschen have no deep knowledge of the Stargate network. It is one of the things that they are very interested in. They have Stargates, but they have no dialing devices. This, coupled with their low hyperspace speeds, has crippled their ability to explore further than a few thousand parsecs."

"Why they do not have dialing devices, is a mystery, though we have a few guesses," Ghost continued. "We discovered that the Aschen have samples of Goa'uld ancient writings and technology, but from what we were able to discover, they have no knowledge or interaction with the Goa'uld. This knowledge is old - from the time of the Tau'ri rebellion against Ra. Also, the Aschen are human, but heavily engineered. Data seems to suggest that a Goa'uld found the Aschen Gate network and removed the dialing devices for security reasons. It is also quite possible that the Goa'uld performed various genetic experiments on the population. Around the time of Ra's rebellion, the Goa'uld must have died. The Aschen lost all contact with their former master and begun to advance technologically."

"Is it possible that the Aschen are led by a Goa'uld?" Lilith asked.

"It is unlikely," Ghost answered. "They only have rudimentary knowledge of the Goa'uld language and only a few facts on Goa'uld science. Were they led by a Goa'uld, that knowledge would have been used. For example, Aschen hyperdrive engines are even slower than six thousand year old Goa'uld hyperdrive engines."

"Also," Kyra added, "I doubt a Goa'uld would allow the development of bio-weapons that could kill even a Goa'uld."

"I agree," Lilith nodded. "Continue, Commander."

"The Aschen are unable to feed their entire population without their agrarian worlds," Ghost added. "They may have extensive stockpiles, but the thirty-four billion people on Aschen Prime need a lot of food. If we stop their supplies, they'll eventually remain without food... or they'll have to divert resources to grow more food on their planet."

"Will they surrender?" Lilith asked.

"That... we can't know. If their leaders decide not to... then they won't surrender.

"So we might be forced to exterminate them if they decide to be stubborn," Erika said.

"I do not believe that to be the case," Ghost disagreed. "We might have to exterminate them, but it won't be because they are stubborn. In a way, the Aschen philosophy is surprisingly close to ours."

"We would never use weapons of mass destruction without reason," Erika protested. "Especially against an unknown civilization that hasn't shown to be hostile."

"True, however their patience spans centuries. Currently only we and the Asgard think in the same way. Their method of conquest of the Volian people proves this. It will take half a century to conquer it with their current method. It is not too dissimilar to our own long term plans for the Goa'uld. The main difference between our civilizations is that they are a bit more practical and amoral than us. Even so, they are not cruel. Their conquests tend to never even know that they are conquered. They bring civilization oblivion by not allowing new children to be born in the civilization they are destroying. They are as cautious ... or even more cautious than we are. And therein lays the danger."

"Even if they surrender, they can't be trusted," Lilith said. "A hundred, or a thousand years from now, they might attack us again if it would be in their interest."

"The Aschen must be destroyed," Cybele agreed. "Or at least their Alpha lines. Their civilization, as it is now, must be obliterated."

"If we get rid of the Alpha Lines, would their Gamma and Beta Lines serve us?" Kyra asked.

"They are bred to serve the Aschen, not us," Ghost answered. "With some serious brainwashing of our own, we could make use of them... in a few decades. Though even then, I wouldn't trust them."

"Also it is not our policy to make use of ... slaves," Erika added. "And I would not trust them as citizens."

"We could rehabilitate them, genetically and mentally," Priscilla said. "Destroy their most dangerous scientific advances. Make them a ... protectorate and keep an eye on them until we deprogram them, and after. Even if centuries later, an alpha line were to come forth, they wouldn't hold any sway over the descendents of the drones. But the Alpha Lines must be destroyed. We might also need to exterminate the Beta Lines."

"That's eighty million of Aschen," Astrid pointed out.

"Yes," Lilith nodded, "but the rulers of the Aschen can not be allowed to survive, or, at least they can not be allowed to continue to rule or have any form of contact with the Aschen. I would be perfectly willing to ship them to a nice prison world if they surrender, but the Aschen must be destroyed as a civilization."

"They are far more dangerous than the Goa'uld," Cybele agreed. "There's nothing more dangerous than a rational, amoral, pragmatic and patient enemy."

"The question is," Lilith said, "can we defeat them now? Or should we wait until we are strong enough."

"I believe it would be better to act sooner rather than later," Eerie answered. "The Aschen are not the Goa'uld. They are not stagnating. It would be beneficial to damage their development. We might not be able to break through the defenses over their capital world, but their other worlds and their fleets are unlikely to be able to stand against our fleets. I propose to take most of our hyper-capable fleet and first conquer their weaker worlds and destroy as many ships as we can. With this occasion, we will be able to gain more intelligence on them. After that, we should move onto their secondary worlds. If we concentrate most of our fleets over each Secondary World, we should be able to deal with it. After that, move onto Aschen Prime and put it under siege. With only one planet, (even if it is their most advanced and powerful,) they will not be able to keep up with us. Eventually, we will have enough forces to defeat their planetary defenses."

"Our annalists agree with hitting them early," Ghost nodded. "The data we gathered suggests that they are accelerating their development. For example, Volia wasn't supposed to be conquered for another hundred years. However, ever since they encountered us, they have been accelerating their plans. Also they increased their expenditure on defense by ten percent."

"Another important point," Astrid added thoughtfully, "is that their redundancy doesn't come close to our, or even Goa'uld's. They need to constantly maintain their equipment, or it will fail. A siege will lead to a lack of resources, which will mean difficulties in maintaining their orbital defenses."

"I believe it would also be wise to always have a clear superiority when fighting with them," Erika said. "Our greatest advantage is that our ships are better than theirs. If they were to capture one of our ships... it would be bad. They could reverse engineer our naqahdah generators and engines."

"We're also beginning to have practical results with the new Asgard and Alteran techs," Ghost added. "I know that we're about to build a battle-cruiser sized prototype in the next few years. If such a vessel were to fall in their hands, it would be disastrous. The Aschen aren't very creative, but they are extremely smart. If they manage to capture one such vessel, they'll manage to reverse engineer most of the techs in a matter of years."

"Some techs, like the hyperdrive engine won't even take a few months," Erika added. "The only reason that keeps their speed so low is that they do not have a good enough hyper-theory. A few glances at our engines and they'll be able to modify their engines to match ours in a matter of weeks."

"Then we must strike from the shadows," Kyra said. "Swiftly and without mercy. The Aschen are numerous. And their industrial capacity is bigger than ours. Their manpower ... massive."

"Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves?" Priscilla asked. "Do we really have the forces to defeat their secondary worlds without too much damage? And the defenses over Aschen Prime... How long will it take to build up a fleet strong enough to defeat their defenses? I believe that the Goa'uld System Lords have a combined fleet of over four thousand motherships. And the Aschen have half that force concentrated around a single planet. We are planning to avoid any large scale conflict with the Goa'uld for the next two centuries. What if in the time we wait for our fleet to grow enough to deal with the Aschen, they start building even more defenses."

"Their tertiary worlds can be conquered without too much problems," Eerie said. Their secondary worlds may be a bit difficult, but we should manage to conquer them without too much damage to our fleet. We currently have 35 Ha'taks and 30 advanced Ha'taks. We also have Bastet's flagship. Combined, they would be able to defeat 200 Standard Goa'uld Ha'taks with relatively small losses. If our intelligence on Aschen capabilities are accurate, that force should be able to deal with one of their secondary worlds."

"That would leave our worlds weakened," Priscilla pointed out. "Can we protect our worlds with the remaining in-system defenses?"

"It would leave us somewhat vulnerable," Eerie admitted. "Unfortunately, I believe this to be our best strategy. Our greatest enemy is the Aschen, not the Goa'uld. Though the Aschen's rate of advancement is not quite as steep as our own, it is steady. The Goa'uld on the other hand, continue to be as they have been for thousands of years. It is highly unlikely for Eratna to be attacked. Even if it were, the planet is protected by fifty Fortresses and over 200 thousand defense satellites."

"That would still mean that any System Lord would be able to defeat us," Erika pointed out. "Even Bastet, as much as she lost, would be able to defeat us if she went all out. Our space industry over Eratna represents half of our economy. We need Eratna, especially now. We can not afford to lose it."

"We do have almost ten thousand Pesqua," Priscilla pointed out. "As they are not a renewable resource, they should not be wasted if it can be helped. Even the Alterans consumed horrendous amounts of resources for their construction. We can split them between our worlds and use them as a last line of defense."

"We could use them to deal with the defenses over Aschen Prime," Astrid said.

Priscilla shook her head. "This strategy is unlikely to work. The Pesqua, as advanced as they are, have quite a few shortcomings. First, we would need massive amounts of energy. Currently, the amounts are so high that only the Flagship would be able to fire them. And even then, it would be at a low firing rate. We'd need a massive salvo to deal with Aschen Prime's defenses. However, even a massive salvo might be ineffectual. The Aschen have many small weapon platforms. They would be able to shoot down most of our Pesqua. I believe it would be better to keep them in reserve. They would serve far well as defensive weapons for our worlds. With their agility and ability to target weak points, we would be able to snipe enemy vessels while our Fortresses and defense satellites keep the attacking force occupied."

"I agree," Eerie said. "In this way, we'd have enough forces to attack as well as defend. Also, it would be better to keep the Pesqua hidden from our enemies. With enough point defense, even a salvo of ten thousand Pesqua would be gutted before they hit their targets. It would be wise to only use them as a last resort."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: Yay! I have over 1000 reviews! A longer than usual chapter. Would have been bigger if I'd wrote more on Volia... but I didn't think it would have been all that interesting, so I cut it a little short. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Published: **November 15, 2010.

_Thank you for reading and reviewing._

_-voider- _

-x-x-x-


	27. Chapter 27 Aschen 3

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 27.**

**Aschen part 3.**

**x-x-x-**

**1817 AD, Refuge Sector, Eratan Staging Ground at the Edge of the Aschen Confederacy, HT503, Bridge.**

"Message from Flag."

Captain L'Aona glanced at her comm. officer, from the throne of her new ship.

"Phase One will start in one minute."

"Acknowledged," L'Aona said. The information from Volia had given the Empire a lot of insight into the Aschen's capabilities. They had learned that their enemies were unable to communicate between all of their planets without their communication network. Therefore the destruction of this network was the first step in their defeat.

"Show me the Stealth Fleet."

A swarm of Stealth Bombers appeared on the main screen. The ships were moving away slowly.

"Stealth Fleet entering Hyperspace."

The two hundred Stealth Bombers activated their hyperspace engines and jumped into Hyperspace.

Well, back to waiting, the Captain thought. It would take a few weeks for the entire enemy comm. network to be destroyed. Once it was destroyed, the Fleet would split and attack the Aschen's minor Systems.

By that time, the last two Advanced Ha'taks from Tara'Nor - the main Shipyards in Refuge Sector, would join them and L'Aona would have the chance to see her brother for the first time in the past two years.

**-x-x-x-**

**One month later, Refuge Sector, Eratan Staging Ground at the Edge of the Aschen Confederacy, HT503, Bridge.**

Captain Aron appeared in

L'Aona greeted her brother after.

L'Aona entered in one of her ship's ring room. She nodded at Cheng Sying - her second in command.

"Your brother is about to ring in, Captain."

The rings activated, and a man appeared in a flash of light. He smiled, walked forward and gave L'Aona a hug. "It's been a long time, little sister."

L'Aona accepted the hug and smiled. "I am glad to see you, Aron." After they separated, L'Aona made introductions. "Aron, this is my XO, Cheng Sying," she said softly. "Sying, meet my brother Aron."

Both men nodded politely at each other.

"Come, Aron. Dinner awaits." L'Aona motioned for her brother to follow her and they headed toward her quarters. "I believe congratulations are in order. You finally made Captain."

"Finally, eh?" Aron chuckled. "Well, little sister, not everyone can be as smart as you."

"True, but at least you got the last Advanced Ha'tak."

"It's not as impressive as you'd think."

L'Aona raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"The scientists have pretty much given up on the Ha'tak design."

"That is understandable. The Ha'tak model is a relic from the Goa'uld. It tries to do too many things at once: troop transport, carrier, capital ship, control ship, orbital bombardment, cargo ship, diplomatic ship and everything else you can think of. The only advantage it has is that it can perform in many roles. Unfortunately, it does them badly. We need more ship classes. First of all we need dedicated capital ships."

"Something that can take and give a lot of damage, without worrying about things like Death Gliders, soldiers and cargo," Aron said.

L'Aona nodded and continued. "Then, we need dedicated carriers. Next, cruisers and destroyers for fast attacks and smaller targets. The only thing we have that is close to that is the Bomber, which is not a proper Light Ship, but an oversized fighter."

"That's why the next generation of ships will be completely different," Aron said. "I've actually seen a prototype on the Shipyards on Trantor."

"Really?"

"Yes. Apparently it has the new Alteran techs we managed to uncover and what we managed to learn from Loki's ship. It's not going to be put into production, though; or even used to upgrade the Fleet. And from what I heard, only the Flagship has some of those prototypes. And even it has few of them."

"Understandable," L'Aona said.

"Indeed."

Cheng Sying glanced between the siblings and L'Aona caught the look of confusion. "This way, even if the Aschen get their hands on one of our ships, they are unlikely to get anything too powerful," the Captain explained. "Even our Goa'uld tech would give them too great of an advantage. At the moment, the Aschen spend huge amounts of resources on maintenance."

"That is why secrecy is so important," Aron added. "If they get access to Goa'uld tech, or even worse, Alteran tech; not only will they get a tech boost, but all of those resources that go into military and civilian maintenance would be freed for other things."

"Things like ships."

Cheng Sying nodded in understanding. "Speaking of ships, will we get more before the attack begins?"

"That's unlikely," Aron answered. "The shipyards had to slow other constructions to get the last two Advanced Ha'taks ready, so we're not getting anymore reinforcements for almost a year. Also, Tara'Nor will concentrate on expanding the space mining facilities again, so our shipbuilding capabilities will somewhat slow."

"Shouldn't we do the opposite," Sying asked. "We're about to enter a war. We'll need a lot more ships to deal with Aschen Prime."

"I don't think the Fleet is supposed to deal with Aschen Prime," L'Aona said. "We just need to defeat their Secondary and Tertiary worlds. If their primary world is contained, the Empress will call it a success. We'll eventually be able to deal with it, but for now, we must cripple their development."

**-x-x-x-**

Some time later, L'Aona, her brother and XO were finishing dinner in the Captain's quarters.

"I wonder how far we'll have to go before we can force their surrender," Sying said.

L'Aona and Aron exchanged a knowing glance. "There have been talks about the different possibilities," L'Aona said. "The Empress hasn't decided yet. It depends of how well the war goes. In a war with Goa'uld, we'd never use extreme methods."

"Extreme?" the XO asked.

"Like destroying a planet or a Sun," Aron said, making Sying grimace.

"The Goa'uld are a known quantity. We know how they think. Destroying a planet or a System is frowned upon by the Goa'uld. Unless it's an all-out war against the combined might of the System Lords, going too far with weapons of mass destruction will only drive the Goa'uld to ally against us or even worse, destroy their current society."

"Heh, and what would be so bad about that last part?" Aron asked.

"We might drive them to what they once were. If they begin to feel threatened as a species, their population might explode in numbers. In just a few days, their numbers might grow from a few tens of thousands to millions. The Goa'uld are not much of a threat to us, as long as their current society is stable."

"True," Aron grimaced. "There's another reason though. If we destroy a Goa'uld world with mass destruction weapons, we aren't going to solve anything. They have thousands more and ships that can escape through Hyperspace. The Aschen however, have one critical world, and their defenses can not flee the destruction of their world. If we deal with it, we defeat them."

L'Aona nodded. "True. And if the war starts to go bad, the Empress will probably give the order. I don't think she will, though. Other civilizations might decide to take offense to it."

"Like the Asgard?" Sying asked.

"Yes. They still consider themselves as part of the Great Alliance, even if they are the last. They take seriously their commitment to protect the Legacy of the Altera."

"They didn't do that much good," Aron sniffed.

"Do not be foolish, brother."

Aron waved a hand in dismissal. "You know I'm right, L'Aona. Their treaty with the Goa'uld protects only a few dozen worlds. And that's only as long as they are not too technologically advanced."

"That is true, however you must keep in mind that the Asgard are foreign to this galaxy. They have their genetic problems and also it is possible that they have been in a war for the past few centuries or even the past few millennia."

"That's a long time for a war. I didn't know about this. Do the Goa'uld know about this piece of information?"

"Yes and no," L'Aona said. "There are indications that the Asgard pulled out many of their ships from this Galaxy. Some Goa'uld have considered this possibility or others from time to time. Some of them believed so strongly in it that they attacked a Protected World. Every time the Asgard retaliated, though. Even if the Goa'uld System Lords suspect that the Asgard, for a reason or another, can't afford an all out war with them, they have only probed the Asgard strength. Even if the Asgard have only a few ships available, that is still plenty enough to deal much damage to the System Lords."

"I see."

"The Asgard might not be too happy if we just blew up Aschen Prime. Genocide on that scale is hard to swallow, no matter our reasons. The Empress is trying to establish a good reputation for us. Sooner or later, The Goa'uld will be gone. Other Civilizations will rise. When that happens, a reputation for being malevolent might make people put us on the same category as the System Lords. Being known as "those guys who killed a few dozen billion sentients," is to be avoided."

**-x-x-x-**

After dinner was finished and Sying excused himself, Aron gave his sister a knowing smirk. "So..."

L'Aona narrowed her eyes slightly and frowned. "What?"

"Isn't it traditional for a visiting Captain to have dinner with most of the high ranking officers of a visiting ship?"

"You're not just a visiting Captain, you are my brother. I wanted to have a more private dinner."

"Ah. And you invited your XO to this dinner why?"

"Just what are you trying to suggest, Aron?"

"I can't believe my little sister is finally interested in someone."

"Sying is my subordinate," L'Aona protested weakly.

"Yes, but that won't last for too much longer," Aron said dismissively. "After this war, the Fleet will be expanded again. He'll probably get his own ship then."

"And when that happens," she sighed, "even if we want to pursue a relationship, we'll probably be too far away."

"Now you're grasping at straws, sister. With all the enhancements we have, we're guaranteed to live for at least a few thousand years. We're pretty lucky. We can first do our duty to the Empire and still be young enough to start a family. We can watch them grow and we'll still be young. Sying appears to be a nice enough fellow. If you like him, I'd say to go for it."

L'Aona gave her brother a soft smile. "Thank you brother. After this war ends, I believe I'll do that."

**-x-x-x-**

**1817 AD, Refuge Sector, Eratan Staging Ground at the Edge of the Aschen Confederacy, HT001, Flag Bridge.**

"Fleet Admiral, Stealth Fleet reported back. Mission accomplished."

Eerie, nodded from her throne on the Flagship's flag bridge. "Very well. Begin Phase two."

The Fleet had thirty-two Ha'taks and forty Advanced Ha'taks besides the Flagship. That made nine squadrons, each with eight ships. Each Ha'tak squadron paired with an Advanced Ha'tak squadron and jumped into hyperspace. The remainder eight Advanced Ha'tak positioned themselves around the flagship.

With a sudden lurch, the remaining nine ships jumped into hyperspace.

Eerie rose from her throne and moved toward Priscilla. The Flagship was the only ship in the Fleet that had some of the most advanced tech Eratna had developed. Some of the additions like the new shield generators and the improved power generators were Alteran, and a control chair was the best way to use and control them. Others, like the new sensors developed from what they learned from the Asgard and, further developed with the help of the Alteran databases, could be processed far better with access to the chair. Even the lower Goa'uld tech could be better controlled by the chair.

One of the many chairs found after the discovery of the Alteran Outpost on Tau'ri was installed on the Flagship.

Despite the fact that all Eratans had the Alteran gene that allowed the activation and control of Ancient tech, only a few people had a passable ability to control the chair. The best of them were the princesses - Erika and Astrid, Lilith and Priscilla. Priscilla however was able to use the chair to its full capabilities, due to her Alteran physiology and her symbiote's presence.

For that reason it was decided that Priscilla would be present on the Flagship.

Priscilla looked to Eerie, who moved behind her.

"It has begun," the Alteran female said softly. "I just hope we're not getting overextended."

"Are you worried for our planets?" Eerie asked.

"A bit. I can't help but worry about Refuge and Eratna. The Aschen might discover Refuge, or somehow learn of its location. With our current technology we should be able to survive a biological attack like their first one. But... there are other ways to devastate a planet. The Aschen are intelligent and ruthless enough to use them. Eratna is in a similar risk. When Lilith conquered it, it was a mud-ball. At first its loss would have cost us nothing. In the case of a powerful attack, we could have handled a fighting retreat. We could have taken all of our people and critical resources off and destroyed the rest without too much economical losses. But now, we have invested too much into Eratna."

"It could not be helped," Eerie said. "With the Aschen danger in the Refuge sector, we could not give up to a developed Eratna."

"True, it could not be helped. Choosing another sector and developing there was not feasible. A third expansion would require resources."

"And we could not ensure that it would not have its own dangers anyway," Eerie added.

"Yes. And now, we can't simply give up half a century of industrial development. When Bastet attacked us, we were able to capture her Flagship. With that, we ensured our protection from her. She no longer had the forces to defeat us. But because of the Alteran plague, Lilith was forced to call the Asgard in the presence of the System Lords."

"We attracted their attention," Eerie said. "I still wonder if that is a good or bad thing. On the one hand, we let them know that we develop advance tech and that we have some influence with the Asgard. Due to our Trade Worlds, the Goa'uld believe that we sell all, or at least, most of our tech. That offers us some protection. It is in their best interest to have good relations with us. Not just because we might decide to supply resources to the enemy of a System Lord that annoyed us, but because we represent the best way for new ways to preserve their immortality."

"The Sarcophagus," Priscilla sighed. "Even a Goa'uld symbiote has its limit. There are plenty of Goa'uld who died of old age, even if they had access to a sarcophagus. An improved sarcophagus would mean longer lives for the Goa'uld. They know that even if a Goa'uld System Lord were to attack us, the attacker would have to ensure that this new technology is not lost."

"Selling an improved Sarcophagus is still a blade with two edges," Eerie said. "Yes, it gives us protection, but it will also preserve the lives of the System Lords. The worst thing though, is that their mental instability given by the old Sarcophaguses will end. I like my enemies as stupid as possible."

Priscilla chuckled softly. "Yes, there is that. However, our long term plans require the new generations of Goa'uld to be sane. We want buffers. Soon we will have a good enough genetic mix for the third Goa'uld genetic strain."

"I just hope it won't prove itself more dangerous than the System Lords," Eerie sighed. "If we need a buffer, we could just give the Tok'ra their queen. With their ability to breed, and a little covert help, they would surely keep the Goa'uld occupied."

"That is true, Eerie. Unfortunately, we can't expect Egeria not to screw up. She was, after all, foolish enough to start her rebellion before she was ready. Also, even if the Tok'ra get their queen back, that won't necessarily mean that they'll change their strategy. They may be too entrenched into their current way of life. Even if they can't breed without a queen, they could have found other ways. They could have cloned themselves. Yes, their cloning process may not be entirely perfect, but at the very least, they could have created Goa'uld symbiotes that would live at least a few centuries even without further medical intervention. They could have created Harcesis. Yes, it is not the same thing as the spawn of a proper queen, and yes, it is a morally questionable method to breed, but it is more than they have now."

"We do not know that much about them," Eerie said. "It could be that they tried it. Maybe they succeeded and hid it from the Goa'uld, or perhaps it failed."

"Perhaps," Priscilla conceded. "I highly doubt it, however. In any case, the Tok'ra have never gave any sign that they can be more than what they now are - spies, assassins and saboteurs. While their methods are efficient enough, given their lack of resources, I cannot see them as successful empire-builders. Egeria did something to them to turn them away from this path."

"And the third strain would not have this deficiency," Eerie added. "There are still dangers, though. Their difference from the System Lords, their similarity to the Lady Lilith and Cybele, may make them as successful as us. There are risks to that as well."

"True, but they won't be that grave. To destroy the System Lords, we need something better to take their place. We're not going to do it, so we need someone else to do it. As it is now, if all Goa'uld were to die, the Jaffa and human slaves would take their place. They would not be better rulers, they would be worse. By the time the third strain is created, and the first few of their number rise to any position of power, we should be far stronger than we now are. By that time, we'll have reduced the number of Alteran artifacts from the galaxy. We will have superior numbers, economy, military might, and technology advanced enough to rival the Asgard. The third strain, Jaffa, humans and other species will rise with the fall of the System Lords. The risk of a malevolent Goa'uld population explosion will be reduced. With our Trade Worlds, it will be easy to help the new powers that oppose the System Lords. We'll gain the gratitude of these new powers. We'll be rid of the System Lords without doing all the fighting. The Asgard will also owe us for helping the younger races. We'll have a relatively stable galaxy, and with a little care, we'll be able to ensure that the new powers will gather into smaller, individual powers and not into a colossal one that might pose a danger to us."

"But until then, we must deal with the Aschen."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note**: Sorry about the late update. I had a bit of writer's block with this last chapter. It took me a while to properly set and decide the ending of this Aschen ark. Not a very exciting chapter, I think, but I hope it was interesting. I had to introduce yet another OC - Captain L'Aona (remember her for the future and distant future... and the next chapter as well). I hope you haven't got too confused with all of these original characters. It had to be done, though. I just couldn't justify having only four or five main characters that would be able to be everywhere and do everything - leading, exploring, fighting (ground and space), research and so on.

And on that note, there should be a list of characters on my author page.

Next chapter should end this Aschen Ark. **I just know some of you will send me hate reviews next chapter. I wonder if anyone can guess why. **

On Egeria: Yes she was found some years ago. I kind of skipped it. I just couldn't find anything interesting to say about this mission. Had I done it, it would have just been boring filler.

On the third strain: it will be Goa'uld that aren't evil. That however, does not mean that they'll be nice.

And on that note, (if you had the patience to read my notes,) can you give some suggestions for the name of this Goa'uld genetic strain?

**-x-x-x-**

**Published: January 23, 2011**.

-voider-


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